Celebrating the Essential Role of School Libraries and Teacher-Librarians in Our Community

This past year, we’ve heard about libraries being battlegrounds. In Virginia alone, books have been removed from the shelves of public schools in Hanover County, Rockingham County, and Spotsylvania County, and our very own Samuels Public Library was in the national spotlight over the summer when its refusal to bend to book-banning efforts temporarily put its funding in jeopardy. The conversation about libraries has been serious, anxious, and urgent – all understandably so. But as we observe School Library Month, let’s pause to celebrate these libraries as safe spaces, vibrant hubs of knowledge and innovation, and champions of literacy, diversity, and inclusivity.

In our county’s school libraries, students from Pre-K through Grade 12 have opportunities to engage with literature, learn how to find and use information, experience the challenges and rewards of creating and sharing knowledge, and develop important digital and technological skills. Our county’s school librarians share the same passion for education as our wonderful, dedicated teachers – because they, too, are teachers, and our librarians play a significant role in their school communities by making connections with students and supporting their personal and academic growth. School librarians in Virginia are also uniquely qualified to promote student literacy because, in addition to their training in education, they are also educated in library science to prepare for the momentous task of providing students access to information by selecting materials using informed criteria.

School librarians tie shoelaces, wipe tears (and snot!), remember students’ interests and get excited about finding them “just the right book,” offer a respite from the chaos of the school day, and always challenge students to learn more, about themselves, about others, about the world they live in and their place in it. It’s joyful to be a school librarian, and as a current student tackling the training required to take on this responsibility, I’m thrilled to experience that joy for myself in the near future. But it’s also an unsettling time to work in this field, when school librarians across the country are losing their jobs, and many of those who are able and willing to stay in their positions have found their agency and roles severely limited due to suspicion and fear surrounding libraries, books, and information.

This April, instead of debating the merits of books and questioning the intelligence and motivations of educators who have dedicated their professional and often personal lives to librarianship, let’s commit ourselves to supporting and investing in Virginia’s school libraries. Let’s celebrate their vital role in shaping the next generation of lifelong learners. Let’s do everything we can to ensure that today’s and tomorrow’s students have access to the transformative power of literacy. Our school libraries have the potential to enhance the future of our community dramatically. Let’s not stand in their way.

Lydia Buhl
Linden, Va.

(Darden College of Education & Professional Studies, Old Dominion University

LIBS 676: Library Media Services and the Curriculum, Professor Cynthia Stogdill)

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