TAKE ACTION

Act In Your District

Decisions to cut School Librarians are not made in Trenton. They are cut locally, in a single budget vote, usually with very little notice — which is also where a community member has the most leverage.

Already happening

Montclair and Union Township have both moved to eliminate School Librarian positions districtwide, and a joint NJLA / NJASL / NJLTA survey identifies further cuts in Sparta, Newton, Clinton, South Orange-Maplewood and Robbinsville. This was once largely a problem of small and under-resourced districts. It is now reaching historically well-resourced ones.

First, find out where your own district stands

Compare the state data to the real picture

Start with the NJDOE School Performance Report for your school, which lists a student-to-librarian ratio. But it reflects the 2024–2025 school year, and state staffing data is often outdated or wrong: a district can look staffed on paper when a position has since been cut, or when one person covers several buildings. Treat it as a starting point and compare it to the real information. The only way to know for sure is to check with your school or district directly.

Coming Soon- Other District Report Cards

Ask directly

  • Is there a certified School Librarian assigned to my child's school building?
  • Is that position full time, or is it shared across multiple schools?
  • Is the library open to students all day, or only when a class is scheduled to visit?
  • Who selects the books that go into the collection?
  • What did the district budget for the library program this year?

If your district is cutting the position right now

Say so publicly and early, and tell us: sign up for updates or contact us. Districts facing cuts have had help from parents and School Librarians elsewhere in the state, and the cuts named above were identified because someone spoke up.

Then, six steps you can take in your district

01

Find or start your district's petition

Find out whether a petition has already started for your district. Contact us to ask, then share it with other community members in your schools. If there isn't one yet, see the steps below to start one. Signatures from inside the district are what carry weight with a Board of Education. This is a separate ask from the statewide petition — sign both.

02

Raise it with your PTA, PTO and SEPAC

Bring it to your school's PTA, the district PTA Council and your SEPAC and ask each to take a formal position supporting a School Library Program. NJ PTA has already adopted positions supporting school libraries staffed by full-time School Librarians.

03

Email or speak to your Superintendent

Ask that a five-year School Library Strategic Plan be written into the districtwide plan and that a first phase be funded in the next budget: one certified School Librarian serving as District Library Program Director, plus support staff, materials, technology and subscriptions.

04

Speak at a Board of Education meeting

Public comment is on the record and is one of the few forms of advocacy guaranteed a hearing. Speak before the budget vote, not after — once a position is cut it is far harder to restore. A public comment template is available in Build Your Toolkit.

05

Write to your local paper

Local papers and community news sites publish community voices, and board members and legislators read them. Describe what your child's School Library actually does — or what disappeared when the position was cut. Short, local and specific has the most impact.

06

Join the campaign

The campaign needs community members in every district — collecting signatures, tracking district budgets, watching board agendas and turning people out at meetings. Sign up.

Find or start a petition for your district

We are adding district report cards as we go, so check with us before you start your own.

  1. Check with us firstContact us to find out whether we have information on a petition for your district, or to tell us about one that isn't listed.
  2. Choose an online petition platformIf there isn't one yet, set one up on a platform such as Action Network or Change.org.
  3. Tell us when it's liveContact us again once you've set one up, so the site can link to it.
  4. See a modelThe Montclair petition is a ready example. The Montclair Toolkit shows what a district's tools can look like.Sign the Montclair petitionMontclair Toolkit
  5. Add personal storiesPersonal Testimonies are a powerful advocacy tool. Read how others spoke up, and share your own.
Contact us

Hearing pushback — "we have a public library," "a volunteer can cover it," "we can't afford it"? Answers to the questions about School Librarians are on the What Does a School Librarian Do? page, and answers to the questions about School Libraries are on the Why Do We Need School Libraries? page.

You know where you stand. Next, build your toolkit.

Public comment scripts, letters, handouts and talking points are in one place, ready to copy or print.

Build Your Toolkit

Every figure on this page is sourced at schoolsneedlibrarians.com/sources.