Perspectives

Perspectives on School Librarian Employment in the United States, 2009-10 to 2018-19

Lance, K. C., & Kachel, D. E. (2021, July). Perspectives on school librarian employment in the United States, 2009-10 to 2018-19. SLIDE: The School Librarian Investigation—Decline or Evolution?

Read the full report above or find a specific section here:

• Executive Summary
• Table of Contents and List of Tables, Charts, and Maps
• Introduction – Recent Past Research and About the Data
• National Perspective
• State Perspective
• District Perspective
  • District Ratio of Librarian FTE per School
    • District Characteristics – Enrollment, Locale, & Per Pupil Expenditures
    • Student Demographics – ELL, Race/Ethnicity, & Free & Reduced Meals
  • Districts Reporting Any Librarians and No Librarians, 2015-16 through 2018-19
    • District Characteristics – Enrollment, Locale, & Per Pupil Expenditures
    • Student Demographics – ELL, Race/Ethnicity, & Free & Reduced Meals
  • Replacement of School Librarians with Library Support Staff
  • Probability of Reinstating School Librarians Once Eliminated
  • District Ratios of Students to Librarians & Teachers to Librarians
  • Future Ready School Districts
  • Charter Districts
• Conclusion
• References & Additional Sources
• Appendix A: Data Quality
• Appendix B: Glossary

Reviewer Comments:

“The SLIDE project offers long-needed, critical analysis of data about the status of the school library profession in the United States.  The first phase of the research has revealed a stark picture of inequitable and declining access to school library programs delivered by qualified school library professionals.  This research presents a clarion call for both national and local actions to address the inequities and gaps and provide high-quality school library services for all of our young people.”
– Barbara Stripling, past president of the American Association of School Librarians (1986-1987), the New York Library Association (2016-2017), and the American Library Association (2013-2014), and currently president of the Freedom to Read Foundation

“This substantial report provides an essential and provocative evidence-based analysis of available data on the status of school librarian employment in the USA.  In the problematic and discordant realities that emerge in this analysis, it compels us to challenge, re-evaluate and rethink the rhetoric and advocacy approaches that have guided the profession, and to collaboratively work with all stakeholders, including learners, toward national policy-driven approaches for school library provision.”
– Dr. Ross J. Todd, Associate Professor, Department of Library and Information ScienceDirector, Center for International Scholarship in School Libraries (CISSL), School of Communication & Information, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey