The national news is crazy this week. Floods and fires are the top headlines, but there is also lively discussion about the closing of school libraries in the eastern provinces. The importance of teacher librarians is being challenged and the positions are being cut.
Here in our little Saskatchewan town I see the importance of these jobs. Most children, at least in the primary grades, love their teachers. They spend most of the year building relationships with one special educator and get to know a few others. Everyone in the school knows and loves the librarian.
The local elementary school librarian may be the most popular person in town. She brings the students the magic of the story, reading aloud to those who can't read yet and those who seem to be growing up too fast, but will still pause to hear a great tale. She helps the students find facts and information for reports and is enthusiastic about books.
When my son left the elementary school he was quite sad for several weeks. He was worried he would miss the beloved librarian too much.
In a world where information is so readily available online, some want to push the old systems aside. Libraries may not change as quickly as the times, but they can be easier to navigate and more reliable in their facts. The Internet is filled with information, opinion and even truth, it just isn't always easy to recognize.
The high school library here is a safe and calm place. The librarian gets to know the kids and helps them find new books to love. She leads a book club and she helps to engage their minds.
Money spent on a library doesn't fill an athletic case with trophies, but it does help to build strong minds and often gives the young people who don't have a place in the school, a place to belong.
I visited a northern school once as a storyteller and had a chance to spend some time in a kindergarten class. Before sharing my stories I asked if they had any favourite books. They didn't have much to say. There were few books in their classroom, there was no open school library and they had never been allowed to take a book home. I doubt they had books in their houses and I would bet they didn't have technology as a substitute.
Books weren't a big part of their life and although I'm sure literacy was a value their educators were trying to promote, they were missing an essential tool for success.
I love libraries and books. They help us to grow and in this town they are very important.
