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Schools Losing Librarians And Libraries

Stella M. Chavez
/
KERA News

Can you imagine a school without a library? It’s not unheard of in Houston, where the number of school librarians has dwindled due to budget cuts.

Apparently, fewer librarians and libraries, too, is a statewide trend. The Houston Chronicle reports that since 2009, the number of certified school librarians in Texas has dropped 10 percent. Some campuses have also had to close their libraries.

The problems facing school libraries are not unlike the challenges that bookstores and public libraries have been grappling with in recent years. As more people resort to e-books, all of these places are trying to figure out how they can stay relevant.

Has this happened in your school? If so, what’s been the response of parents, students and teachers? Have schools come up with creative solutions? Comment below.

Stella M. Chávez is KERA’s immigration/demographics reporter/blogger. Her journalism roots run deep: She spent a decade and a half in newspapers – including seven years at The Dallas Morning News, where she covered education and won the Livingston Award for National Reporting, which is given annually to the best journalists across the country under age 35.