The writing is on the wall: School Librarians are an endangered
species, not only school librarians, but all librarians in small
libraries middle level management in all industries. This is part of a
greater development. School librarians are really middle level
management and technology is replacing this group at a terrific rate.
Computers crunch numbers and keep track of transactions and statistics
very efficiently. Indeed, it makes the tasks of a librarian much
easier. However, computers also do many of the jobs librarians, as
middle management, used to do. In fact, having worked in school
libraries in four districts in four states I have learned that is was
once common for larger schools to have two credentialed librarians. All
the tasks of cataloguing and processing books demanded that level of
staffing. The era of the two librarian school library has long passed
and where it exists it is due to tradition rather than necessity. It is
analogous to what has happened in retail and even the hospitality
industry. Computers allow for the instantaneous transfer of information
to upper management without the necessity of intermediate steps. This
has eliminated or minimized the need for on site managers in many
industries. Indeed, many economists point to this process as a prime
reason in the stagnation of middle class wages over the last thirty
years.
Think about our own jobs. Automated check out is already a
reality. Late and lost item notices can be generated and sent
automatically. Processing and selection can be done on a district or
even county or state level. From the principal or superintendent’s
point of view, having a high cost librarian at each site is fast
becoming an unnecessary cost. Someone to shelve books, keep the
computers turned on and sweep the floor is all they consider necessary.
Indeed, when I worked in another state two years ago, 90% of my time was
involved in totally non library related activities. I was the testing
coordinator, taught literacy to improve test scores all morning covered
classes when teachers were absent. In many cases the only reason we
still have jobs is because we manage a great room to have meetings in
and a large number of capital goods. I plan to tabulate the exact
numbers, but my library closes for all sorts of testing, meetings and
presentations. We are closed to students a great deal of the time.
While it is true we can be great assets to teachers, learning and
better test scores, we are increasingly viewed as a budgetary waste. It
is only a matter of time until a school with a librarian will be an
oddity and only exist where the management has a special desire for
their services. This process will be accelerated as tech companies
develop hardware and software to accomplish the tasks we now do more
efficiently and cheaply. Furthermore, as the number of tech savvy
younger teachers increases, many of the things we offer teachers will be
able to be accomplished in the classroom or by the teacher in the
library. It is inevitable and there is not a whole lot we can do about
it.
David Neuville Triche, LMT
Luther Burbank High School
3500 Florin Rd.
Sacramento, CA 95823
(916)433-5100 Ext. 2000
David-Triche@sac-city.k12.ca.us
"One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some
fantastic pictures."
George W. Bush, President of the United States
Graduate of Yale and Harvard
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