Because Sue Lareau is a Certified Library Media Specialist, our district was able to join the SAILS library system, thus affording the students and staff interlibrary loan, as well as all of the online tools the Massachusetts Library System offers, not only varied database options, but also eBooks. MLS is the owner of the delivery service for resources (Inter-library loan) that is required by SAILS. No Sue/no delivery.
As of ‪July 1‬ the district will have to pay for SAILS(they require a year’s notice to opt out) but without a certified Library Media Specialist, the district will lose the rights to MLC, including interlibrary loan. Without SAILS the district will have to convert to a standalone circulation system, and to have SAILS extract the book and patron information into another circulation system there will be additional fees. This is just another expense no one has taken into consideration.
Sue has direct contact with every K-6 student. Fin Com and Selectmen kept stressing this point at the meeting: not getting rid of direct contact staff.
The school library is likely the only library some students interact with until they reach the KP middle school.
Both Wrentham and Norfolk have a Certified Library/Media Specialist as well as SAILS, losing Sue will leave our students at a distinct disadvantage. (This is something S. Committee has harped on: do what the other schools do.)
Since the 1980’s, there have been multiple studies stating that having a Certified Library/Media Specialist correlate with raising students’ standardized test scores because of: 1) The size of the school library 2) Full-time/certified school librarians 3) The frequency of library-centered instruction and collaborative instruction between school librarians and teachers 4) Size or currency of library collections 5) Licensed databases through a school’s library network (Todd, Ross. “School Libraries, Now More Than Ever.” Rutgers University, 2012) We have all this now, but will lose it without the position.
Sue teaches all students Information Literacy Skills: how to access, evaluate, present information in a safe and ethical manner. Sue also teaches Digital Citizenship, again being safe and responsible while using any digital tool. She also teaches the love of reading and encourages students read varied materials on varied topics.
Sue is a member of the Massachusetts School Library Association, MassCUE (the technology association for Massachusetts), Part of the Microsoft Educator Network, Part of the Discovery Educator Network, been awarded the Renaissance Teacher of the Month (Accelerator Reader) , and just last night was the Plainville recipient of the NCTA Honor Award.
Thus losing this position is not just about saving her salary.