If you lived in the Evergreen school district when it funded libraries, had adequate facilities, and had a certified professional librarian and support staff to keep them in working order, you probably graduated more than a few years ago. Over the past decade, the district libraries have gone from being among the most respected in the state to ones that are failing their mission. Slowly but surely, libraries have been defunded.
Library budgets have been drastically cut, and this school year the certified librarians in the middle and high schools have lost their positions. They were eliminated without official input from the teachers’ union and the public.
Do you know what happens to a library that is defunded? The collection becomes outdated over time; materials that should be retained are discarded by untrained staff; students lose the person they counted on to assist them in advancing their reading interests, someone to give them suggestions for that next good read.
I urge parents in the Evergreen district to be proactive and stand up for your students’ right to have a competent professional serving them in the school library. Attend school board meetings; vote for those candidates who respect and value school libraries.
