The entire profession of school librarians is in danger of “being wiped out” in swathes of Scotland, education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville has been told.
The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland (CILIPS), the country’s main professional body for librarians, has written to the education secretary calling for an “urgent” government intervention as local budgets leave school library services facing a “stark” future.
The letter from the head of CILIPS, Sean McNamara, reminds Ms Somerville of research showing the wide-ranging benefits of school libraries, and predicts damage to literacy rates and attainment if they are cut back. Rather than cutting these services, CILIPS believes that all pupils should have a statutory right to “at least some access to a school librarian, and ideally one in every school”.
The CILPS letter cites these examples of school libraries being targeted in budget cuts:
- North Lanarkshire deleting all school library posts and removing library spaces in some schools.
- Inverclyde proposing to replace all school librarian posts with assistants from the public library service.
- East Renfrewshire proposing to delete all school library posts.
- Midlothian plans (now postponed) to remove all school library posts.
“These proposals, with more like them expected due to budgetary challenges, would lead to the entire profession of school librarianship being wiped out in some areas,” said Mr McNamara. “This would be unlikely to return and would significantly affect the quality of education offered to pupils as well as efforts nationally to improve literacy rates and attainment.”
He added: “These cuts follow over 10 years of service reductions that have already left some authorities with no librarians and many with one between two or more schools. An extensive body of evidence highlights the contribution of school librarians to improved exam scores and achievement, and their role in creating a safe, supportive and inclusive learning environment where all pupils have equitable access to curriculum-related learning resources.
“School librarians were instrumental in supporting pupils during the pandemic and we contend that all pupils should have access to a school librarian who can support them through the intersection of formal and informal learning.”
Ms McNamara also pointed out that local authority cuts to the service would contrast with the commitment to school libraries in the independent sector.
“Independent schools all maintain relatively well-staffed and -funded school libraries, and pupils who attend state-funded schools should not have to be disadvantaged,” he said.
In 2017, CILIPS met with then education secretary John Swinney to highlight threats to school library services at the time. That resulted in fewer cuts to library services than initially planned, and led to the establishment of Vibrant Libraries, Thriving Schools - a National Strategy for School Libraries 2018-23 and the “impactful” School Library Improvement Fund.
The strategy explicitly sets out that school librarians are trained and skilled members of school staff and cannot be adequately replaced by teachers, pupils or public library staff.
Mr McNamara said: “We believe that we need to see not only a continuation of the current national strategy but also some level of statutory service being established to ensure that all pupils retain the right to at least some access to a school librarian, and ideally one in every school.”
His letter to the education secretary, which was sent yesterday, concludes: “We look forward to working with your colleagues in the curriculum unit and other partners on the continued implementation of the strategy and its next steps later this year. However, this will not be soon enough to save an entire profession being wiped out in some council areas, and I hope that you will agree this requires a more urgent response.
“Cuts such as those in East Renfrewshire amount to less than 1 per cent of the savings required for their education department, yet the impact on young people would be long term and substantial. Before it is too late, I ask you to do whatever is within your remit to encourage local authorities to rethink these proposals.”
Campaigning to prevent school library cuts has been gaining momentum, including a petition to save North Lanarkshire Council’s school librarians that has now reached 40,000 signatures.
Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “School libraries play a key role for young people by providing access to educational resources, supporting learning and helping close the poverty-related attainment gap.
“The national strategy for school libraries in Scotland supports the continuous improvement of school library services and the professional development of school librarians.
“We are aware of concerns around school libraries in some parts of the country, and we will continue to work with local authorities on solutions.”
The Scottish government also stressed that local authorities are responsible for decisions around school libraries. It added that school libraries were recently given £200,000 of Scottish government funding for projects focused on antiracism, diversity and racial inequality.
