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Article by professor on the important role that librarians play in a school.

Libraries have done a world of good for schools. They provide a self-directed learning environment and a quiet place to work and study - not to mention the wealth of carefully organized stories, articles, reference materials and other information for students to use whenever they need it. It's no secret that the library is essentially a campus warehouse for media products. Trouble is, media is changing....

I heard that a lot of school libraries closed recently. That's too bad. Maybe this could help school libraries alive.

"I used to think being trendy was a bad thing-a sign of someone who lacks individuality or perhaps is fickle. But in a world of rapid change where people are more and more aware of the latest technology, news, and innovation, being trendy-or at least knowing what's trendy-is almost essential." (Figueroa)

Unfortunately, too many people consider libraries as mere rooms full of books and computers, and librarians as mere functionaries in charge of the rooms and their contents. When district leaders look for savings in a budget, too often they see the most important teacher in a school as the most expendable. California schools have seen a marked decrease in the number of teacher librarians in recent years. New York City has about 50% more schools than it did in 2002, but more than half of the district's libraries have closed in the past decade. In California, New York, and anywhere else cutting libraries, it's a classic example of a penny-wise, pound-foolish approach to budgeting: there's no shortage of evidence that libraries and librarians - both, together - have a strongly positive impact on student learning.