83% of students get books for their independent reading from the school library

I'll say again what I've been saying for years: librarians are the unsung heros of our schools. They fly under the radar as support staff, but their impact on learning can be huge. In response to a recent decision in Los Angeles to eliminate all the certified school librarians from the district, Dr. Camia Alire, President of the Library Asscociation has issued a powerful open letter to the superintendent of the schools, highlighting just how important libraries and librarians are to students.

School libraries play a significant role in the lives of our children,
but this move will have an even greater negative impact on students who live in poverty. According to a recent survey for the Scholastic Corporation, 83% of students get books for their independent reading through the school library. For many students, school libraries are the only source of free access to computers and the Internet, but without the expertise and guidance of a certified school librarian, students will be left to fend for themselves and struggle to avoid the misinformation pitfalls of the Internet.