"In Defense of School Librarians"

A Google Alert for "information literacy" retrieved this excellent and heartfelt guest opinion piece by Cathy Collins, a school librarian, "In Defense of School Librarians," published in the February 11, 2010 issue of pressdemocrat.com. She laments the fact that the general public misunderstands the role of the school librarian, and cites a dissertation on the topic of school libraries and student achievement:

"As recently as December 2008, Douglas Achterman published a dissertation titled “Haves, Halves and Have-Nots: School libraries and student achievement in California.” It is composed of 225 pages of research. Being the nerd I am, I read it cover to cover.Findings confirm prior research on the relationship between school libraries and student achievement and point to the inequitable access of school library services in California."

Her opinion piece is well worth reading and passing along to others, including legislators, as she suggests.