I remember very distinctly the dim lighting of my elementary school library and the days we’d huddle at the long tables tucked behind the shelves to listen to the librarian read to us. My favorite day, one that must have knocked my future on its axis ever so slightly toward books, was a day the librarian brought in a published author. I don’t remember who the author was, but I do remember her reading from her novel, talking about the writing process, and answering our many, many questions. The reigning emotion in my recollection is comfort. Comfort in the books, in the semi-dark, in the chairs and the stories and the librarian smiling quietly at me as she checked out my stack of exactly 10 books, the limit for each library trip.
School librarians for me, and hopefully for many of you, were prominent figures in my childhood. I remember the competitions we had to read as many books as possible, which included one of the prizes being a picture of me hung in the library with my favorite book. I remember the reading quizzes, the research projects, the large shining plastic bins in each classroom where we could drop our returns each morning.
But when did librarians start working in schools and how has their role changed since then? Let’s take a look!
The First School Librarian
According to the American Library Association, the first professionally trained school librarian was Mary Kingsbury. Her career began in 1900 at a Brooklyn high school. Prior to that, libraries were operated as a collection of books within a classroom, especially in the 1700s and 1800s when schools were a single room. Schools at the time could also have been serviced through the community’s public library rather than by a librarian who was assigned to that specific school.
Soon after Kingsbury’s appointment, other school librarians were appointed to schools across the nation. According to Wayne A. Wiegand in American Public School Librarianship: A History, this development of the school librarian corresponded with changing attitudes towards children in society. As kindergartens, nurseries, labor laws, and more rose in popularity and laws requiring school attendance spread, more children spent time at school, creating a necessity for librarianship to help with meeting the academic needs of the ever-expanding body of students.
The Role(s) of Early School Librarians
The second school librarian, Mary E. Hall, was appointed in 1903. She defined her role in an essay, among many, she published to advocate for the school library. In her essay, quoted in American Public School Librarianship: A History, she recommended a library with two rooms, one for reading and one for a classroom to teach students how to use reference books and library tools. The rooms were to be full of pictures, plants, and “a pervading joyous atmosphere of freedom.” The rooms should also provide “audiovisual services” and space for clubs, including reading clubs, for after school.
Hall’s daily work included recommending books, maintaining the school’s collection and card catalogue, and teaching her students to use and care for books.
Transform your reading experience! Become an All Access member and unlock a treasure trove of exclusive content—must-read articles, deep dives, and curated recommendations—with unlimited access to 20+ members-only newsletters, community features, and more. Sign up now for only $6/month!
The role of the school librarian, according to the 1927 Standards and Curricula in School Librarianship mirrors much the same as Hall’s depiction, establishing that school librarians should recommend books suited to each child, as well as train children in independent investigation, in note-taking, in how to use library tools. School librarians were to have “all that the good teacher has and in addition library training.” The standards state the school librarian must make the library an integral part of the school’s education scheme, not as an appendage or an extra-curricular activity. In Martha Wilson’s School Library Management published in 1922, she expands upon the daily roles of a school librarian, including attending teacher meetings, looking up answers to questions, notifying teachers of new books and articles on relevant subjects, and doing the “cultural and inspirational work” of widening the interests of students.
As pointed out in the 1924 publication School and Society edited by K. McKeen Cattell, school librarians did–and still do–go beyond the collection and upkeep of books. They not only maintained the school library but also enriched the curriculum, stimulated initiative in pupils, developed healthy minds, and played a part in the character development of the children.
“Whether the schools reach these objectives depends very largely upon whether the pupil can be taught successfully to use the right books in the right way,” the publication reads, “In this the assistance of the school librarian is invaluable.”
Early school librarians weren’t all that dissimilar to the present-day ones we know and love.
The Lack of School Librarians
If the school librarian role is relatively similar today to its beginnings, so, too, are some of the issues they face.
In the early 20th century, many schools couldn’t afford a trained librarian, putting the role onto a “teacher-librarian” or volunteers. In 1934, a survey conducted by the US Office of Education documented in Statistics of Public School Libraries revealed 92.74% of public schools included in the study were served by classroom collections rather than a centralized library with a librarian. The survey revealed there were 12,578 librarians as full or part-time employees of public schools. A subsequent survey in 1953 revealed that 30,753 librarians served 51,498 schools of the total 128,831 schools that were included in the study. These numbers may not be exact due to survey methodology, but they’re representative of the lack of librarians at the time, even as their numbers and demand grew.
Modern School Librarians
What’s noticeable about the changing role of school librarians since 1900 is the incorporation of technology. While Hall noted a need for an audiovisual element, as technology grew, so did the need for librarians to be at the forefront of it.
In his Survey of School Library Standards from 1964, Richard L. Darling declares “today’s school library must be more than a storage place for books.” This meant not only printed material, but also films, slides, recordings, models, and more. The 1971 publication Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science: Volume 12 called this expansion a merger between school librarianship and the audiovisual profession. The library was evolving to become a multimedia center. Today, most school librarians serve as technology specialists of a sort as well, helping students with online research and media literacy alongside their book-related duties.
Modern school librarians face the same issues the librarians of the past faced with some added complexities of today’s world. A lack of public school funding, cuts to education budgets, and a lack of prioritization of education impact the ability of schools to employ a full-time librarian. And where librarians of the 1900s worked to prove their worth, modern librarians are no different. Despite studies showing the impact of school librarians on reading and math tests and graduation rates, some schools have elected to cut librarian positions because they’re deemed obsolete. School librarians today also face intense scrutiny and backlash in the form of book bans and targeting. In light of all of this, school librarian roles are declining, down as much as 20% since 2009-2010, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
What Can You Do To Support Your (or Any) School Librarians?
It’s not all bad news, though. According to a 2023 survey conducted by EveryLibrary Institute and Book Riot, 95% of parents surveyed believed every school should have a school librarian, and 92% of guardians trusted librarians to curate appropriate books and materials for their children.
So, what can you do to help keep school librarians in schools? First, you can advocate for school librarians with your local school board, school district, or local government. Attend the next board meeting, for example, or write to your school district about the importance of school librarians. You can also support organizations that advocate for school librarians, like the American Association of School Librarians or EveryLibrary.
You can also go straight to the source and ask your local school librarian what you can do to help! They’ll know more than anyone what issues impact their school and how you may be able to help mitigate those.
For more ideas on how to support school librarians and libraries in general, check out these 56 tasks to be proactive against book censorship and this guide to fighting book bans!
