As the Massachusetts School Library Association marked its 50th anniversary in March, the Bay State Banner conducted a survey to assess the state of school libraries. The survey covered 302 of Massachusetts’ 319 public school districts, 52 of 73 charter districts and 221 private schools.
Public school respondents represented 95% of all schools in Massachusetts, operating 1,264 libraries with 1,309 personnel.
Respondents reported 760 state licenses held by librarians. That exceeds the state’s data, suggesting that some districts recognize a variety of credentials for librarians. Many libraries are operated by specialists, aides, assistants or paraprofessionals.
School libraries are uncommon in early grades. Just 33 of 165 primary schools have libraries.
Some schools without libraries aren’t without access. Twenty-six schools in Massachusetts are co-located with a school library.
Some large, high-need districts operate with almost no libraries. Lawrence has just two for its 26 schools, Lynn has four for 27 schools, Fall River has four for 18 schools. Overall school spending in these districts barely exceeds the state minimum.
Last year, the Banner analyzed outliers in school spending: districts spending 105% or less of their foundation budget and those spending over 200%. In the budget-constrained cohort, 195 of the 416 schools have libraries: or 47%. In the wealthier districts, 62 of 71 schools have libraries, 87%. From these groups, only Everett and three regional vocational high schools did not participate.
Since the survey relied on self-reporting, some district data differed. For instance, Lowell Public Schools reported stocked shelves at 26 school libraries, but only 12 operating. In Brockton, where there are 24 schools, 14 operating libraries were reported. Three of those do not circulate books.
Some districts, and many private schools, described “book rooms” that they do not count as libraries. Another common practice sees bookshelves placed in classrooms.
Of the charter school districts, 30 operate at least one library, as do 137 of the participating private schools.
Some private schools invest in libraries. The best staffed libraries are at Northfield Mount Hermon and Dana Hall. Both employ archivists.
In the public schools, Medfield stands out. Its five libraries are staffed by five librarians and six assistants.
The combined catalog of 113 public school districts with 479 libraries is 4.4 million combined.
Overall, the number of school libraries in Massachusetts appears to be increasing. In 1978, 63% of the 2,972 public and private schools in Massachusetts maintained a library. In 2018, a legislative commission set out to study the same in public schools. Accounting for sampling error, they found “between 722 libraries and 1,226.”
The commission recommended that “every public school in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has a school library and certified school librarian.”
Through 2020 there were 43 Boston Public Schools with libraries. That count has increased to 70, with the number of “teacher librarians” employed jumping from 19 to 70. BPS libraries also employ five paraprofessionals. Recent BPS school closures and mergers may, however, hit five school libraries.
Teaching digital literacy
Survey participants could also describe the technology available; 83.5% that did, offer students laptops or tablets. Many give the devices “one-to-one” for each student; others loan them out.
Some give out devices in early grades. Quincy Public Schools reported that “students in grades K-2 have access to Chromebooks.” Likewise, Shrewsbury provides K-12 students with a district-provided iPad. In Harvard, Massachusetts, pre-K classrooms have iPads.
Of these districts, 46 mentioned offering Apple products while 118 provide Google devices.
The use of digital libraries is accelerating. In 2024, statewide research databases “heavily used by schools” served up 9.3 million articles, according to Celeste Bruno of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. That’s over 10% more than the year prior, she said.
The SORA eBook program circulated 2.1 million titles, Bruno added. “In FY24, 102 schools joined the program,” she said, for a total of 650.
Professionally, librarians are trained experts in digital information and research. Many teach students media literacy or digital literacy skills.
Randolph and Mashpee reported teaching Digital Citizenship courses to help students navigate the Internet. In Sunderland, fifth and sixth graders are also schooled in Boolean search logic and critical thinking.
In some schools, research techniques are a serious subject. Montachusetts Technical Vocational school librarian teaches AP Research. Its curriculum requires students to write and defend a 4,000-word paper. High schools in Milford and Hampshire also offer the course.
Libraries offer information science lessons
In March, librarians met in Norwood for the Massachusetts School Library Association conference. President Barb Fecteau, who is a librarian in Beverly, called the organization a “support network” offering professional development.
The discipline, she said, is vulnerable to budget cuts. Fecteau praised parents for contributing, but says students deserve expert instruction. “There’s no digital literacy training at all until you get into ninth grade.”
“The book rooms in my district are run by parent volunteers,” she lamented. “They don’t have any training.”
To Fecteau, librarians are the “Swiss Army knife of educators.”
Laura Gardner, a school librarian in Dartmouth, agrees. She enjoys being a “jack-of-all-trades.”
“We can do the tech, we can do the instruction, we manage a budget, we manage a physical space. I manage student volunteers,” Gardener said, who collaborates with teachers on curriculum and instruction, reinforcing their lessons wherever they ask. “I’m often co-planning, co-teaching and even co-assessing,” she said.
Libraries are a “must have,” Gardner said. “The library is a third space” that’s “not strictly for academics. It’s a space where a lot of students feel safe.” For her, “it was where my imagination took flight.”
“There’s nothing that can replace a good story,” Gardner said. “I’m always really sad when I hear about young elementary kids, in particular, on devices all day long.” Ideally, “those little hands need to be working on craft projects: gluing and cutting.”
“Developmentally, it misses the mark to give kids technology at that young of an age.”
Eighth graders in Dartmouth, Gardner said, “self-report that they don’t have the attention span to read a book the way that they used to before COVID.”
At the conference, librarians from Nashoba Brooks and Milton Academy, Laurie Taylor and Molly Wong respectively, offered guidance on emerging AI technology. They demonstrated Flint, an AI tool made for schools, and Perplexity’s deep research and source-selection functions.
“AI tools are only as reliable as the sources they use to gather the information,” Taylor stated.
Since AI tools “should not be considered an author,” she advises students that “if you use an AI tool to find a source, you only need to cite the source.” However, some school policies require students to cite AI if it was part of their research process.
In August, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education issued guidance for the use of AI in schools.
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