Librarian protests Provo district cuts

PROVO — He's one of the top children's librarians in Phoenix, a one-time Newbery Medal awards judge and an advisory board member of the Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries.

The seeds of Tim Wadham's 20-year career were planted in Provo, he says, where the city school district plans to stop paying for salaries for full-time librarians, a cost-cutting administrative move that Wadham is decrying.

Beginning fall 2007, the district will give schools money for paraprofessionals, employees who will work in school libraries but won't be required to have college degrees, teacher certifications or master's degrees in library science.

The district anticipates saving about $200,000 a year by not having certified librarians, assistant superintendent Ray Morgan said. That savings will pay for retirement benefits for which the district must begin saving by law.

Some of the library paraprofessionals will be retired school librarians, Morgan said. The paraprofessionals will receive training and help from the district.

And principals who want to keep certified librarians on staff can do so if they have enough in their budgets, Morgan said.

Still, the plan rankles Wadham, Youth Services Coordinator for Maricopa County Library in Arizona.

"Basically they're going to replace (librarians) with clerks" who will check in and check out books, said Wadham.

Wadham believes that students' education will suffer once the librarians with college training are gone from Provo schools.

Research shows students can fall behind in reading if they are not introduced to books when they're young. And good librarians, he said, know how to interest children in books.

School librarians also are trained to assess library collections and fill in gaps with acclaimed literature that's academically appropriate for grade levels, a task Wadham says is more complicated that it seems.

He also warns that Provo school libraries could be disqualified from government and private grants to purchase books.

For instance, the Laura Bush Foundation provides grants for new books in libraries at needy schools. But the advisory board hesitates recommending funding to schools without professional librarians.