New Jersey Needs School Library Programs

Our children and young adults are in the midst of a Literacy Crisis, with reading scores declining and reading for pleasure collapsing. International data recently highlighted that increased digitalization, longer screen times and falling rates of reading for pleasure have coincided with weaker literacy outcomes. Struggling readers also show significantly higher rates of anxiety and depression, making reading difficulty a mental health risk, not just an academic one.

Meanwhile, over more than a decade and under prior administrations, the one program in our schools built to counteract all of it was gutted: School Library Programs.

Decades of research show that High-Quality School Library Programs led by Certified School Librarians result in improved literacy and academic outcomes across all student groups, but particularly among students who have limited access to books and other resources. Additional benefits include better social-emotional and self-regulatory development and better overall mental well-being.

Since the 2008 School Funding Reform Act, School Librarians have been included in the standards that help define the programs and services that New Jersey deems necessary for students to achieve a thorough and efficient education. School Library Programs form part of the foundation of a well-rounded education, supporting every subject and every student. They are not an enhancement or intervention. School Library Programs are also essential to the success of New Jersey’s implementation of the science of reading and act as a deliberate counterbalance to the overuse of technology in schools. With the expected implementation of first-in-the-nation information literacy standards, the School Librarian is the professional most qualified to teach media, information and AI literacy.

But current laws and regulations have left School Library Programs and School Librarians vulnerable to budget cuts. This has resulted in the elimination of over 30% of School Librarian positions throughout New Jersey since 2010. One in four school districts do not have a School Librarian and over a million students live in a district with School Librarian ratios double what New Jersey’s own Educational Adequacy Report recommends.

New Jersey has recently announced that it is seeking to overhaul its school funding system in order to ensure that every student has access to an excellent education and the opportunities that come with it. This overhaul gives New Jersey’s current leaders the opportunity to build a lasting foundation for School Library Programs statewide.

We are therefore respectfully urging Governor Sherrill, Commissioner of Education Dr. Lily Laux, the New Jersey State Board of Education and members of the New Jersey Senate and General Assembly to include the following as part of their school funding formula overhaul:

As New Jersey revises the school funding formula, it must consider whether ensuring access to High-Quality School Library Programs is a good use of taxpayer dollars, and whether doing so will help the State achieve its mission of providing a thorough and efficient education for all of its students.