I'm a big library user, and I think most of you are also. I use this one in Fort Collins when I'm there, and borrow books from their Overdrive collection when I'm at home 1700 miles away. I visit the library in MD when I'm down there, and there are two libraries here in NJ that I take advantage of when I'm at home. I worked in elementary and middle school libraries for seven years until NJ drastically cut their education budget; our school district foolishly decided that libraries weren't a necessity and the people that worked in them were just "low-hanging fruit". I know that's not the case, and I suspect that most of you might feel the same.
So I read this story with interest yesterday, and it's honestly the best news I've read in a long, long time. I wish they could accomplish all of this without a strike, and I understand the hardships that will be placed upon students, parents, and the teachers themselves, but they are striking, in part, for MORE LIBRARIANS!
"The district and the union are close on teacher salaries, but educators and union leaders say the strike is about more than paychecks. ... They want smaller class sizes, more counselors and librarians, and a full-time nurse in every school."
I'm going to follow this story closely and hope that their demands are met, because "A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life." ~ Henry Ward Beecher
More librarians are always a good idea! Thanks for your library love and support!
ReplyDeleteLibraries are magical places. I was happy to hear that librarians are a focus of the LA teachers' strike. I hope they get what they want!
ReplyDeleteCheering them on in LA!
ReplyDeleteLibraries are such a gift! YES. More librarians, indeed!
ReplyDeleteThank you for this! Libraries are one of those things that people take for granted until they are gone.
ReplyDeleteHow great!! Nice to see this kind of news for a change.
ReplyDeleteGo LA! A world without libraries and more importantly, librarians - is not a world I want to live in.
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't already, you must read Susan Orleans book The Library Book which is nonfiction about the LA Central Library fire in 1986, and so much more. She covers the history of libraries and librarians, especially in the US. And there's a lot of different aspects of how libraries work covered. I've been glued to it in every spare minute the past 2 days.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for this wonderful recommendation! It's on my list and I've requested it from the library.
DeleteYES! I live a county that believes in good libraries and they do their very best to bring to us what we need as a community. Just as you do, I use my library and enjoy walking in and looking around, checking out books, videos, music and much, much more. Go, LA teachers! May your demands be met with a listening ear!
ReplyDeleteI've loved libraries ever since I can remember my mother taking me to our local library. I just can't explain that special feeling of anticipation & wonder I get whenever I walk into a library. I read "The Library Book" by Susan Orleans a few months ago and I would recommend it.
ReplyDeleteYou're the second person to recommend The Library Book, so it must be good. I've put it on hold at one of my libraries (the one with the shortest wait)!
DeleteYay for libraries!
ReplyDeleteWe used to go to the library all the time, but now that the internet is invented I do kindle books or ebooks mainly. (I also shop physical books for fun). Our library is pretty good for a small town library and they have a great sale two times a year. The local university also has great book sales that we try to attend.
ReplyDeleteAmen. I frequent the local libraries frequently. After my new glasses came in - post cataract surgery - I went from the eye glasses store directly to the library. I browsed to my heart's content and checked out four or five books. I am thinking of another quote about libraries being one of the most democratic places in the world by Doris Lessing, I think. I am listening to The Library Book. The story is great but I'd recommend the hard copy over audio. I'm not loving the narrator.
ReplyDeleteI have been both an elementary school and a public librarian - so I know where schools and PLs rank on the totem pole - if even there...YES! a million+ claps for LA teachers' strike! Thanks too to you for your support in all ways!
ReplyDeleteCheers~