School libraries must be prioritized among budget cuts
Ed.: The essays, analyses and opinions presented as Community Voices express the perspectives of their authors on topics of interest and importance to the community and are not intended to reflect perspectives on behalf of Salish Current.
For our family, elementary school started online in the fall of 2020. If you lived in the Pacific Northwest at the time, it also happened to be a September covered in orange smoke from nearby forest fires. As a newer parent, I was inside and overwhelmed trying to keep everyone healthy and navigate this new reality. Then came a friendly note from the school librarian.
Even though children and parents were not allowed in the school building, we could still check out books. We made requests online and scheduled an appointment to get them outside the school. A sense of ease came over me on book pick-up day. It felt normal, in an otherwise abnormal time, and tethered us to the broader school community.
Since our daughters were born, we’ve maintained a nightly reading routine. However, I had a lot to learn about how children learn to read and write, let alone savor a good book. The podcast, Sold a Story, offered insight into the science of reading as well as Maryanne Wolf’s influential book, “Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain.” More close to home, the school librarian was eager and ready with lists of books and book series to spark a love of reading at all levels.
Once parents were allowed back into the school, I was drawn to the school library — its large window looking out over mountains and farm fields. There are game carts and comfy chairs and students know this is a safe and interactive space. The wide variety of books and inviting displays seemed designed to bring kids closer to stories they might like to read. In Mac Barnett’s new book, “Make Believe: On Telling Stories to Children,” he reminds us that “kids are proudly unfinished. And when they encounter a story that makes demands of the reader — a story that requires thought and feeling and imagination in order to be fully understood — kids do what they do so well, so many times each day. They bravely work to comprehend the new.”
I eventually asked if I could volunteer there for an hour or two a week as my time permitted. I initially refiled books. Later, I helped check out books, so the librarian could circulate with recommendations for the twenty-plus students. Through this process, I encountered a world of literature that had been missing and was reminded of how important library spaces are for creativity and learning, let alone the joy of discovery.
Last year, when the librarian asked if I wanted to organize the closet of book sets, I jumped at the chance. I was delighted to see old favorites, like Judy Blume’s “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing,” while finding several new-to-me chapter books, such as “Holes” and “Tuck Everlasting.” In the article “Beyond Excerpts: Teaching with Whole Books Boosts Comprehension and Engagement,” educator and scholar Natalie Wexler writes that, “Reading whole novels can boost both students’ interest in reading and their reading comprehension scores.” School libraries are central to a whole book education, especially when teachers are already stretched thin by busy, daily schedules and rising classroom size.
To adapt to challenging budget constraints, many school districts have drastically reduced library staffing. According to Save School Librarians, “Nationwide, public school districts have lost approximately 20% of their librarian and media specialist jobs since 2000.” Currently, our district can only afford a librarian on staff for three hours per day at both the middle and high schools and I worry about future reductions to elementary library time as well. By deemphasizing reading time and resources, what message are we sending to children about the opportunities to explore worlds and stories that are different than their own?
The Atlantic’s recent, viral article “The End of Reading is Here,” Rose Horowitch paints a bleak picture of literacy across all ages in the US, especially related to technology. In her newsletter, Minding the Gap, Wexler quickly responded to this article and noted that “there’s more going on in schools than Horowitch acknowledges, especially at the elementary level. Literacy curricula that incorporate whole books—and build the knowledge that actually fuels reading comprehension—are gaining ground.” This gave me some relief.
Our nation is rich in libraries, a system that, in my opinion, epitomizes all this country has done right. However, what are we losing when start to scale back this system, especially school libraries solely dedicated to children’s and young adult literature? As parents, students and community members, we must support and advocate for school libraries, despite the threats of consolidation and tightening budgets. The tools of language, critical thinking, and discernment are born from books. We need to protect these important spaces — the heart of the school, I would argue — for generations to come.
—By Jessica Gigot
Jessica Gigot, PhD, MFA, is a poet, farmer and writing coach. She lives on a little sheep farm in the Skagit Valley. Her second book of poems, “Feeding Hour” (Wandering Aengus Press, 2020) was a finalist for the 2021 Washington State Book Award. Jessica’s writing and reviews appear in several publications, such as the New York Times, Seattle Times, Orion, Ecotone, Image, Terrain.org and Poetry Northwest. Her award-winning memoir, “A Little Bit of Land,” was published by Oregon State University Press in September 2022. The audiobook was recorded and released by Julia Whelan’s Audiobrary in 2025.