How much does it cost?

Libraries are expensive.

There, I said it.

The amount of money it takes to not only put in a library, but to keep it up to date and running, is incredibly high.

Libraries, unfortunately, are not a one-and-done purchase.

This is why the schools in Philadelphia do not have libraries - or have libraries that are 20 years old.

So, the next question is: why?

Sure, books are expensive. But people walk into book stores in every city in this country and think nothing of buying a new hardback book for upwards of $30 (well, maybe that new paperback for $16).

So, here's some math. Let's imagine that a book costs $10. Our school has 1,000 students. A functional library has 12 to 15 books per student.

1000students x 12books per student x $10 = $120,000

Now, you have a great library.

But, you also need to staff it. In a perfect world, the library would be staffed by a certified librarian. So, for year 1, we can add $50,000.

$170,000 = Year 1 operating expense

As you enter the second year though, there will be costs. There are new books that come out, books are lost or stolen or damaged and need to be replaced, maybe a teacher wants to teach a unit on a subject the library doesn't currently have books on. And, oh yeah, we need to pay the librarian again.

Assuming the books are still $10, and we will need to buy 2,000 books, and the librarian's salary goes up $1,000.

2,000books x $10per book + $51,000salary = $71,000 is the Year 2 operating expense


Now, obviously missing is any budget for the librarian to hold book clubs, or do any special events in his or her library (which are equally important as the books!!).

You can see how quickly it can all rack up, and how, in short order, the Philadelphia School District with over 250 schools could no longer support libraries.

A little note though - obviously books that are purchased for schools or districts can be purchased in bulk, reducing the price some more. I am going to purchase books for Rowen from Scholastic, who offers the books at a significantly reduced price (try $4 per book!!).


My point merely is to illustrate why it is so hard for the District to keep up with school libraries, and why our school libraries need our support. We can't wait on the school district to make the change.

Service Comes in a Variety of Shapes

The plans for MLK Day of Service 2012 are set in stone now, and our projects are ready for completion! Next week we will have a great series of stories and pictures about our (intending) successes on MLK Day, so stay tuned!

Also, I wrote the blog post recently about what people can do to support their local school libraries. Here's another update to that. This week I was given the link to a petition to improve and create school libraries in all public schools: "Ensure that every child in America has access to an effective school library program". Click here to check it out!

The petition is posted on the White House's website - you can check it out - and plenty of other petitions that the American people are interested in.

Petitions like this are a useful way to get the word out about the struggle for libraries in public schools - the more people it reaches, the more people will support the cause.

Have a great weekend!

Audio Books Budget

More budget cuts to Philadelphia's library system has resulted in a huge cut to Philadelphia's collection of audio books meant for the blind or others with vision impairments. There is a branch of the Free Library especially for the audio collection (on 8th St in Society Hill) that will now lose half its employees while most of the collection will be moving to... Pittsburgh? Apparently the state wants to consolidate its audio collection, which means that is Philadelphians want or need audio books they have to wait for up to a week to get it.

Now, waiting for a week to get a book from another location is not a huge deal. But I think this says more about whats going on with the state's education and library budgets than anything else. Over time these library budgets are just going to keep declining, as will services to those who need them. More librarians are going to be cut - seen as expendable to the process.

Yesterday the School District had to announce even more layoffs - and in light of the budget crises in this state, some cuts are good. But there continues to be the bleeding of services that are important to basic education - libraries. I'm of the opinion that we can't wait around for the state, local, or even national government to fix these problems. Because, guess what, they won't. We need a new way to solve these problems - before its too late.

The continued economic decline of the PSD

This isn't a cheery post to get us started in the New Year, but there aren't really cheery things going on in the Philadelphia School District - or other PA school districts for that matter.

Despite layoffs last June (of which I was a part of), the Phila School District is still trying to shed services in order to balance the budget (or at least get close to balancing that budget?), and before Christmas, layoff notices went out to nurses, bus drivers, etc. In total, the Philadelphia Inquirer said about 1,400 people would most likely be laid off.

Now, I'm not going to use this space as a forum to talk about what the District did wrong - I have no idea how they spend their money, or who (if anyone) is to blame. What I do want to comment on, is how students are going to be able to keep learning when these cuts are made. It's of no surprise to anyone who reads this blog that school libraries in Philadelphia have been slashed so many times that more than 60% of school's don't have a functional library.

And the main reason that even some schools in Philadelphia still have a library? The Philadelphia Teacher's Union demands (its in their contract) that schools which serve more than 1,000 students have a library with a librarian.

With cuts being made to janitors and bus drivers - vital jobs in a school district - you can be certain that librarianship positions are not coming back any time soon, and neither will spending on school libraries.

Even more heartbreaking is recent news that a school district in Chester is literally out of money. Not just that they are short of money - no, they are actually out of money and won't be able to pay their teachers soon. How on earth is this even possible? Apparently they have appealed numerous times to Pennsylvania, but Gov. Corbett and the Secy of Education are unmoved saying that the Chester-Upland District took control of its district from the state in 2010 and that they misused all funds.

It does seem like PA is being a little heartless here, but then again, how on earth did this school district misuse their funds this badly?
Its like a bad nightmare.

And obviously, yet again, no music programs, no art programs, no nurses, no janitors, and no teachers?, and no libraries. And yet, these students are meant to do what? Go to school and try to get into college just like the kids at the local boarding school?

The situation in public education today is grim. And that's putting it lightly.

Library Closings

Every once and awhile I have time to peruse the Library Journal's site. They usually have pretty great articles about whats going on with libraries and librarians across the US.

Today, two caught my eye, and both are about library systems closings. Chicago and Detroit have both been struggling with budget cuts (much like Philadelphia), and had to make the difficult decision to shutter branches.

In Detroit, the shutting of 4 branches was actually decided by the library system, in order to preserve its current staff of librarians who had been working in mulitple locations and with longer hours in order to keep the branches open after layoffs. Luckily, the new closures won't result in new layoffs.

But in Chicago, the budget for the library system was reduced by $8 million, which will lead to about 180 layoffs - a pretty big number.

It's pretty amazing the amount and size of layoffs in the teaching and librarianship sectors recently. Unfortunately, librarians aren't seen as "necessary" like teachers are, and their axed positions rarely come back (much unlike teaching positions). That's part of the struggle in Philadelphia right now - librarians were laid off in the 70's and 80's, but they were never recalled, leading to the problems we see today in Philadelphia's school libraries.

Unfortunately, the budget crises in most cities means that school librarians, and shuttered library branches won't be coming back any time soon. City governments aren't suddenly going to see the value in the school libraries, or be able to generate funds from mid-air for their creation.

So what can we do about it? This is a question that I'm still mulling, but here are some initial thoughts:

1. Hold book drives for a local school.
2. Contact private or charter school librarians to see if they have extra books.
3. Contact local library branches about extra books.
4. Create a "Friends of xxx School Library" much the same way that organizations supporting library branches have been created.


Changing these problems just requires someone - anyone - to get involved.

The Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush

I spent the morning at The Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush. The principal there invited me to come by and see the school and their library space.

I had looked at their website before going, but I didn't really know much about the school.

Here's a rundown:

- Benjamin Rush School used to be a middle school, but it was shut down, and the School District began a multi-million dollar renovation of it.

- In 2008 it opened as The Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush.

- It is a college prep high school, and a site select (not a neighborhood school), so students from all over Philadelphia can apply in the 8th grade to attend Rush.

- This is the first year that they have a senior class, because they have added a grade each year since 2008.

The school is beautiful. Here's the entrance (with Halloween decorations):

But, then there's the library:

New furniture and bookcases.

It's beautiful too! It was fully renovated and refurbished. The District put in beautiful book shelves and furniture, and brand new carpet, when the renovation was complete.


But, true District-style, what did they not give The Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush?

Empty.

Books. 



The shelves are empty. The principal has very little budget for the school (just like all principals in this city), and has been unable to truly put a library into the school. They have been able to raise some money in the last few years to get a very small collection, and they have received book donations, but nothing that fills the space.

The beautiful librarian's desk that was put in during the renovations.

I'm trying to think of ways that Library Build can get involved with The Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush. It seems like a truly great opportunity for us because the space is already beautiful, and the principal is very dedicated to getting the best for her school.

Stay tuned!

New Pictures of Rowen School's Library

I spent the day at Rowen School on Wednesday. Here are some new pictures of some of the more challenging features of Rowen's library:

This door is by the librarian's corner. It leads to a creepy basement area of the school - obviously it needs to be fixed and then locked so kids don't go through it. 

Yeah, this is nasty. 

I'm not really sure whats under the grating here. Probably pipes of some sort that need to remain accessible in case of school repairs. 

The delightful drop ceiling. Probably not much we can do about that, but this picture also illustrates the terrible lighting fixtures in the library. 

General clutter.

I sent out newsletters today to everyone who has donated to Library Build in the last year! Look for yours in the mail soon! Make sure you read the newsletter for news about our exciting new project which I will be announcing next week (after those who have donated see it - more reasons to donate!). 

Wednesday at Rowen

I had a great day today at Rowen School. The principal is doing some really great things there - he is getting a music program underway (WHYY is going to be covering it soon!), and he has motivated community members to get trained as crossing guards so that the kids are safe after school. So wonderful!

Then, there's us! I am so excited to hear about the things happening at Rowen, and knowing that we have the power to help change their library.

Today, I was interviewed by Kristen Graham of The Philadelphia Inquirer about Library Build, and a photographer came along as well. It should be a great piece about Rowen's library and the work that Library Build is trying to accomplish there.


Stay tuned!

Certification versus No Certification?

Over the course of developing Library Build from an idea into an actual nonprofit organization, I have faced a great deal of criticism from librarians who say a variety of things including: "You can't possibly put in people who aren't certified as librarians," or "You will just be taking away the jobs of real librarians," or "Librarians without certification will not serve any great purpose in a library."

So, here we go.

Most of the libraries in Philadelphia's public schools are closed. They have no one in them who manages the collection, no one who monitors what books go in and out. There is no one who runs book clubs, no one who teaches kids how to use technology.

The library at Rowen School is kept locked because it is that useless to the administration without a librarian.

Point One: Is it better for the library to remain closed, than it is for an un-certified librarian to be in the library?


All other organizations that I have read or learned about in the course of my research that do the similar work of renovating libraries either do not put in any supports afterwards, or put in part-time, community volunteers.
A large, corporate foundation renovates libraries, but does not recruit or put in volunteers or librarians. Their work is to put in the books and make it pretty. They then leave the community and the school to use it as they wish. This is why so many of Philadelphia's public school libraries are abandoned now. Because without someone in the library full time to manage it and update it, it becomes useless.

Similarly, other organizations will renovate school libraries and will then place part-time volunteers into the library. Obviously, this is better than nothing, but these volunteers are not trained, and are not there full-time, dedicated to the students.

Point Two: Would you rather have a part time volunteer, or would you rather have someone in the library all day who has received training and is there to serve as a librarian for the entire school year? 


As public school districts across the United States continue to face budget cuts and budget crises, they will continue to lay off their workers. Most recently here in Philadelphia, they laid off a great number of teachers. But guess who went long before the teachers? That's right, librarians. Why? Because ten to fifteen years ago when budget problems began arising in urban districts, they started getting rid of the people they felt they could most do without. They need teachers, so librarians and similar staff (music programs for one), got laid off.

That was more than ten years ago. This is why Philly's libraries are empty.

Point Three: Library Build is in no way taking jobs from librarians. There are very few librarians in Philadelphia! Once we renovate Rowen's library, we will place a trained librarian into the library. The School District is not magically going to come up with the budget to hire a full-time, certified librarian just because we put in the library. That is wishful, and dangerous thinking.


That being said, when we do actually begin to recruit Library Fellows we will consider any qualified college graduate. We will hire the most qualified applicants we get (including those with MLS degrees) who are willing to work at the salary offered.

Book Fair!

I met with a representative from Barnes and Noble this week, and we are officially having our book fair with them December 12 through the 17. Save up your book lists and support Library Build!

Our voucher number is: 10570174 

You will need to present this at the time of purchase (in store, or online!) for Library Build to receive a portion of the sale. Remember, you can shop at any B&N in the nation, not just in Philadelphia! 

I will obviously update as we get closer to the date. We are going to try and have some kids from Rowen attend on the 12th to get people in the store interested! It should be great!

City Schools - No Librarian

Today in the Philadelphia Inquirer is an article about the Cook-Wissahickon School Elementary. It's a general story about public schools that can be successful, yet are facing tough times because of the School District's budget cuts and the lay-offs of hundreds of teachers (including yours truly).

But I was caught by one line on the first page: "We lost our Spanish teacher, and librarian".
Its not something that most people think of as necessary. But without a librarian, the students at this school won't be able to check books out that interest them. Their classes won't be able to make visits to the library to learn about reading, writing, or research projects (yes, even elementary students need to learn these skills!) Teachers won't be able to work with the librarian to find interesting books that go along with their curriculum. And the library will eventually become disorganized and old with misuse.

This is why we are trying to get Library Build, Inc off the ground! I am very excited by the things we have planned for Rowen Elementary's school library.

So whats going on now?

That's the question I keep getting about Library Build. So here we go:

- I am madly working on grant applications. This is what I focus on almost exclusively right now. No comment on my level of enjoyment of this task.

- I have been emailing with my teacher contact at Rowen School. School is starting next week so they are a little crazy, but once things settle down, I will be going to the school more often to work in the library. Which means, I will be measuring the floors, looking through what has been stored there to either get rid of it or move it to somewhere else in the school, etc.

- I am planning a MLK Day of Service in January at the library. Of course, this requires a lot of agreements, etc, but I'm really hopeful that we can get volunteers to the library to paint, go through books, etc.

- Whole Foods Callowhill is planning a book drive with Library Build to begin in a few weeks, so I am putting together some marketing things, doing a few write-ups, etc.

- I have plans in the works to visit Lowes, Home Depot, and local hardware stores to beg for discounts or free supplies to renovate the library with. I was going to apply for an actual grant from Home Depot, however, they require anyone who applies for a grant to have been 501(c)3 for two years or more. Two years!

- Yesterday I met with AmeriCorps VISTA, and am in works to apply for Library Build to receive a VISTA member next year (to focus on development of Library Fellows). This makes it absolutely imperative that I get somewhere with my grant applications because we so very desperately need office space.

- There are some other minor items that I am working on, but I think this fairly sums up what I am focused on for the next few weeks or so.

Any questions, thoughts, ideas, let me know.

Library Impact Studies

I took some time this weekend to read "School Library Impact Studies Project" - a project of the library science program at Mansfield University in Pennsylvania.
Their project was a compilation of all the other studies that have come out about the importance of school libraries, school librarians, technology, etc. But it was good to see it all in one place. Here's a general run-down of points we should all know:

1. "The most universal finding is the presence of full-time, certified school librarians and appropriate support staff who implement a quality, school-integrated program of library services."

2. Despite differing levels of poverty of students tested, a full-time librarian and library increased test scores across the board.

3. Test scores often increase in correlation with increases in library hours.

4. A librarian at a school "was the single strongest predictor of reading enjoyment for both grades 3 and 6 students."

5. Test scores especially rise when teachers and librarians collaborate together on lessons.

6. "Schools with newer collections in their libraries had higher test scores."




(All information and quotes came from "School Library Impact Studies Project," Kachel, et al. 2011. http://library.mansfield.edu/impact.asp)

Introducing Rowen Elementary

- Location: North Philadelphia, a little west of Broad Street
- Numbers: about 470 students
- Grades: K - 5
- Academics: Rowen has made AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress, the national standard for improving schools) the last two academic years!
- Breakdown: 95% are African American, 2.6% are white, and 1.5% are Latino (the rest are "other")
- Special Education: 11.8% of students are in some form of special education
- Economics: 82.8% of the students at Rowen are "economically disadvantaged" (according to School District standards), and 17.2% are "other". The entire school is Title 1.

We have a school!

Today was a great day for Library Build. First, Library Build is one of Whole Foods Callowhill's Nickels for Nonprofits, which means customers can donate their bag refunds to Library Build! So bring in your bags when you go shopping! I went in today and did a short little interview about Library Build. Not so sure that I will win for any prizes for interviewing or speech-giving skills, but at least word will get out :) We are also making plans to do a book drive for Library Build at Whole Foods - amazing! Keep an eye out, we hope to get it started soon!

Second, and the best news ever. We officially have a school! William Rowen Elementary School in NW Philadelphia. I have been working with them for about a year now, but because of different issues, its been hard to pin down any sort of agreement. Well, I met the new principal today, and we are going for it. The new principal is ready to make a change for the better for his new students, and is very excited to be working with us!

First picture of Rowen's library. 

I will put together a summary/profile of Rowen for another blog post, so for now let me just discuss the library itself. As you can see from the picture above - they have a library!!! However, it is old, musty (very musty!), the furniture is old/broken, and the books themselves are all yellow with age. Most of the books are about 10 to 25 years old. They have a set of encyclopedias that are from 1986. Obviously they aren't useful!!

The library itself is fairly small, but at least its not cluttered!

The great thing about this library is that we will be able to go through the existing collection to see what is salvageable, giving Library Build a good head start.
The other awesome fact about Rowen School is that they have an amazing collection of Mac computers that were donated only a few years ago, so all of our money can go to books, kindles, nooks, and renovations!

The librarian's (eventual) corner

I will post more pictures with the profile of the school, so keep an eye out! Some great things are happening for Library Build, and for Rowen!

July 2011 Update

A few updates today:
- About this time last year I was able to connect with a school in Philadelphia that was interested in Library Build. Unfortunately, the situation got complicated when the district sent along paperwork that was too overwhelming for LB at that point. Fast forward to now, and I am working steadily through it. Which means that hopefully we can officially announce a partnership soon.
- Grant applications have been taking up a lot of time recently. In March and April of this year I had completed about 8-10 applications (also including just general letters of inquiry). Not surprisingly, LB was rejected from all of them. The state of funding right now is a mess because of the economy. Grant programs and grant-giving organizations even in good times usually only like to fund projects that they have funded before, and in hard times like these, a new nonprofit has no shot. Hopefully we can interest at least one grant-giving organization though, and really get the ball rolling!
- The government likes paperwork, and even the service orgs within the government are no different! Currently working to partner with AmeriCorps for the Library Fellows program - if I can make it through the paperwork rounds!
- I have been on an intense search for volunteers. Anyone and everyone interested is more than welcome - even if you don't live in Philly! I am trying to develop the following:

• Fundraising plans that do not involve applying to grant programs (so far this has involved contacting local bookstores about book fairs, obviously I am open to any other ideas).
• Marketing materials for Library Fellows, partner schools, the media, etc etc.
• Grant writing, or just grant reading. Like to proofread?
• Anything and everything! 

In closing, here's a link to a recent article in the Philadelphia Inquirer about summer library programs, and the danger in the summer "slide" when many students regress academically because of lack of books, summer academic camps, etc.
Also, a point from his article about why the library is important to our students NOW: "More than 500,000 Philadelphia adults have limited reading ability."

http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/david_brown/20110614_Turning_reluctant_readers_into_eager_ones_at_Free_Library.html

The Books by the Numbers

This is the introduction to a series of posts that will examine the statistics and facts surrounding the state of libraries and literacy in both Philadelphia and the nation as a whole. I intend to give readers a sense of the environment that surrounds the challenges and work that Library Build does. Occasionally (particularly today) I will go beyond the facts to examine the attitudes that Americans hold with respect to these issues.

Two evenings ago, our local Fox News affiliate, Fox 29, did an expose-styled report on the costs of Philadelphia’s Free Library – with the catchy title, “Is the Free Library Really So Free?”

Well of course the Free Library is not free, just like public education is not really free. We all pay taxes so that everyone can enjoy a basic standard of living, and that is supposed to include a basic standard of education – of which a library is a basic necessity.

Fox Philly’s report stated that the Free Library’s 54 branches cost the City of Philadelphia a total of $33 million a year. The question posed by the report was: Should the City of Philadelphia be spending $33 million a year on libraries given the current budget crisis and public debt situation?

Well, $33 million isn’t so much when compared to the city’s other expenses. In 2004 the new Citizens Bank Park was opened for the Philadelphia Phillies – and the city of Philadelphia paid for half of the costs of construction. That comes to $229 million. In 2000, Philadelphia agreed to chip in nearly $100 million for the Eagle’s new Lincoln Financial Field.

This year, once again, the Welcome America Fourth of July celebrations, including a parade and two fireworks shows, will be taking place over eleven days. The state of Pennsylvania refused its annual gift of $500,000 to $1 million to the parade, citing that there was no money in the state budget. But that leaves the city of Philadelphia to pay for the rest: “The [Philadelphia] administration later reassessed its decision, and it concluded it should in fact financially support Welcome America because ‘all eyes are on our city on the Fourth of July to see how America's birthplace is celebrating America's birthday,’ [Philadelphia city spokesman] Oliver said. ‘That's no small thing’.”

Is it a small thing that in the birthplace of America there is a 50% drop out rate among high school students?

This isn’t to say that events like parades, celebrations, or sports games should be cut from the budget. But if our local news media wants to talk about cutting access to a basic of American life – the library – shouldn’t we also discuss how much the city is spending on entertainment? Sure entertainment increases quality of life in Philadelphia. But education and literacy increases that quality of life more than tenfold over entertainment. Without an education, and without literacy, we doom students to a life of uncertainty and almost assuredly, poverty.

Oh, and as for the argument made in the report that, "Libraries aren't in the Constitution and therefore shouldn't be publicly funded," well, neither can public fire departments, public garbage collection, public parking garages, or, of course, NFL stadiums be found in the Constitution...

“Welcome America to get City Services Gratis” http://www.philly.com/inquirer/front_page/20100610_Welcome_America_to_get_city_services_gratis.html#ixzz0sRMq3cFp

“Is the Free Library Really so Free?” http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpp/news/local_news/is-the-free-library-really-so-.-.-.free%3F

Citizens Bank Park Stats: http://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/nl/CitizensBankPark.htm

Lincoln Financial Field Stats: http://www.billhance.com/football/Linc/LincMainPage.htm