Librarians

Susan Polos is an incredibly passionate and gifted school librarian. I visited her school last week, and the electricity in the air was palpable. The students' enthusiasm for books had been imparted by Ms. Polos—that's pretty much her job description. She told me that she had always wanted to host me, which humbled me. She told me this could also be her last school visit because of budget cuts, which infuriated me. 

The evening after I visited, librarian positions were eliminated in her district. Ms. Polos will retain a job, but it will be unrecognizable—one librarian for five elementary schools. Sure, it's better than no librarian—but these kids deserve better. They deserve a librarian at their school, for their school. The entire community deserves that too. 

Librarians shouldn't have to live their lives in fear of their positions getting cut every year. Nobody wins in that atmosphere. 

In this instance, there weren't enough votes to get the school budget approved—it lost by a slim margin. We all need to make our voices louder and get them heard. 

If your kid goes to a school with a dedicated librarian, maybe write a letter now to let your school's administration know how integral they are. Maybe CC the superintendent while you're at it...and the school committee...and city officials.