California Teacher Librarians & the Differences They Make

 By Karen Gonzalez 

Lance, K.C. and Harlan, M.A. (2025). California teacher librarians & the differences they make. Learning Hub: Vol. 1: Iss.1, Article 8. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/learning-hub/vol1/iss1/8/

Summary: 

Lance and Harlan point out the importance of school librarians and school libraries in California by analyzing data gathered from 2022-23. The analysis focused on factors influencing the presence of credentialed teacher librarians and the impact they have on school library programs. Key areas examined included staffing levels, library access, staff responsibilities, collection size and funding, and the use of the Model School Library Standards.  

Structural characteristics, such as enrollment size, geographic location, and grade level, were the strongest predictors of whether a school employed a full-time, part-time, or no teacher librarian. Teacher librarians were most commonly found in larger schools, high schools, and those located in cities or suburbs. Nearly all schools with full-time teacher librarians assigned them to a single library, whereas part-time librarians often served multiple schools. 

There are many things teacher librarians do that make a significant impact in their schools. To name a few, having a teacher librarian will likely get students scheduled for library access, have space to accommodate entire classes as well as small groups to work on research based projects. Teacher librarians are more likely to provide greater access to technology by also extending the library’s program presence. Having a teacher librarian would likely mean that there is a larger book collection and budgets, plus a larger budget for other things such as databases and materials.   

Evaluation/Review: 

This was an insightful article regarding California teacher librarians, school libraries, and evaluation data. California is one of the few states in the nation that collects data on teacher librarians and school libraries on a yearly basis. The data that is gathered from these evaluations is used to improve practice, evaluate library's programs, progress towards goals, and training needs for teacher librarians to name a few. Information gathered would be like a window for others to see what a teacher librarian does and what school library programs look like. It's a great way to measure goals annually and revise for improvement or update the goals; it reminded me of Plan Reviews for IEPs. Teacher librarians have the high ground on what is decided what the school library will look like, such as the scheduling, space, collection, technology, activities, and standard implementation. Budget is an important component that also plays a crucial role on how well the school library is able to operate, which depends if it has a teacher librarian working full- or part-time. The unfortunate reality is that there are communities that lack resources all around that leaves librarians putting in resources from their own personal fundings.