Where Have All the NJ School Librarians Gone?
April is School Library Month, and it’s a time when schools, organizations, and communities recognize school libraries with resolutions and their contribution to the education system.
In this regard, the New Jersey State Board of Education presented a resolution recognizing School Library Month at their April 8th meeting. During April, school librarians are praised in the media and the value of school libraries is celebrated. Jenna Bush Hager said on the Today Show on March 2, 2026, “Y’all are the pillars of your community and of your school.”
The reality, however, for too many schools in NJ is that there are no school librarians. Citing budget concerns and lack of funds, schools have eliminated the one instructional partner that is dedicated to literacy and to information. With April as the month of recognition, it is a perfect time to make school librarians a budget priority; school librarians are a necessity, not a luxury. The number of school librarians in New Jersey has been declining for years. Data from the NJ School Performance Report Cards since 2016 documents the decline. During the 2016-17 school year, the ratio of students to School Library Media Specialist (SLMS) was 911 to 1. Seven years later (2023-24 school year) the ratio had declined to 1232 to 1. This ratio is significantly higher than any other category of school staff. Budget constraints notwithstanding, these cuts are short-sighted. The research is clear on the impact on student achievement related to the presence of school library media specialists.
The reason for school districts eliminating certified (SLMS) is predictable. Funding issues created by rising costs such as transportation, supplies, healthcare costs and technology needs consume many district budgets. Combined with a lack of a strong administrative code requirement for SLMS, districts decided that school librarians were a luxury that could be eliminated. Strong library programs are proven to be associated with improved literacy outcomes. SLMS should be a priority in every school district.
Literacy instruction in New Jersey is under scrutiny. The science of reading, along with the requirement for literacy screening tools, is now the newest strategy for improving literacy. Those tools and strategies, while well-intentioned, do not teach students a love of reading, which leads to true lifelong learning. Certified SLMS are the instructional partners that put the right book into the hands of students, and this is what helps them truly connect with reading. As Laura Bush so eloquently stated in her message to SLMS on the March 2, 2026 Today Show, “Each day you (SLMS) help your students fall in love with reading because we know that young readers make future leaders.”
SLMS move students beyond simply decoding language toward forming meaningful connections to reading. This, in turn, leads to fuller reading comprehension and understanding. School librarians play a crucial role in teaching academic reading skills, a skill that every student will carry throughout their educational journeys. Gabrielle Casieri, President of the New Jersey Association of School Librarians (NJASL), recently spoke with School Library Journal for the feature "The Librarian Effect on Literacy." During the interview, Casieri emphasized the collaborative power of school librarians: "Librarians can co-teach with language arts instructors to design inquiry-based lessons that help students master specific standards, such as reading for information. It is vital to recognize that not all reading is the same."
The exact form these lessons take depends on the age of the students. Ms. Casieri notes in her experience, students tend to find this type of instruction engaging: “When they are doing inquiry-based learning, they’re interested, and they’re asking their own questions . . . That can help with vocabulary building and comprehension and fluency and all the things that we’re looking for in reading.” (SLJ April 2026)
A brighter school library future can be achieved for NJ students by sending an email and asking your local legislator to sign on as a co-sponsor of S3440 / A1654). This legislation would require schools to have a certain ratio of SLMS to students. So let’s make the celebration of school librarians extend beyond April, as it is necessary to make students successful readers and learners!
Send a message to your New Jersey state representatives to prioritize
school librarians this legislative session.
Gabrielle “Gab” Casieri is the 2026 President of the New Jersey Association of School Librarians (NJASL), which is the only statewide organization for school librarians in New Jersey. The organization advocates for high standards in school librarianship and school library media programs in public, private, and parochial schools in New Jersey with the goal of inspiring student learning.