Philadelphia Restoration Campaign Releases White Paper on School Librarians

Philadelphia Alliance to Restore School Librarians (PARSL) has released a new White Paper, “Ensuring Equity and Access to School Librarians and School Library Services in the School District of Philadelphia.” It outlines the status of school libraries in the School District of Philadelphia, provides relevant research on the impact to students, and proposes a multi-year strategic solution. 

ABSTRACT: There has been an ongoing and pervasive lack of school libraries and certified school librarians in the School District of Philadelphia for decades. Today, the 217 district-operated schools with over 113,000+ students, who are mostly economically disadvantaged and predominantly students of color, have the equivalent of one full-time school librarian. Yet, two out of three children in Philadelphia cannot read on grade level by 4th grade. Multiple research studies have found that school librarians and libraries increase literacy, student achievement, graduation rates, and college and career readiness by teaching research skills and digital citizenship skills. This White Paper calls on state, city, and district officials to recognize the research and begin a phased-in, strategic plan to restore school libraries and certified school librarians in all its schools. The provision of an effective and equitable education requires that school librarians with functioning school libraries be restored to serve the needs of students across the district. This process must begin now.

Read the Executive Summary and the full Report at https://www.restorephillylibrarians.org/ensuring_equity_whitepaper.