American Prospect – “Libraries and librarians not only spark a love of learning; they are crucial to reversing low reading assessment scores across the country. Since a shocking plunge in math and reading scores on the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), educators, administrators, and policymakers have grappled with how to address learning challenges following the pandemic. One factor that has largely escaped notice, however, is the role school libraries and librarians play in academic performance. School libraries are too often treated as a luxury rather than an essential part of the public education system with a proven impact on learning. It is time to turn around years of disinvestment in school libraries and librarians, taking steps to measure and report school library quality within holistic systems of accountability that can reflect the resources—or lack thereof—that underpin student outcomes and thus test scores. More than 50 years of research across more than 60 studies show that students with access to well-resourced school libraries with certified librarians consistently perform better academically and score higher on standardized assessments. While underserved students see even bigger gains from robust library services, they are less likely to have access to these resources. Meanwhile, information literacy is becoming increasingly important in an age of misinformation and disinformation. Yet since 2000, there has been a nearly 20 percent drop in school librarian positions, which translates to 10,000 fewer full-time school librarians across the country. While more than 90 percent of schools in the United States have school libraries, only about 60 percent have full-time librarians, according to a 2019 report from the American Library Association (ALA). Likely the most extreme example to date of this disregard for libraries came last fall when the state-controlled Houston Independent School District (HISD) shuttered 28 school libraries and laid off their librarians.5 The former libraries were repurposed as “team centers,”6 where, among other uses, students experiencing behavioral issues could watch their lessons virtually. Meanwhile, book bans and gag orders on topics such as race, LGBTQ+ themes, and other identity-related subjects have limited librarians’ abilities to do their jobs and students’ access to important material. Educators, administrators, and policymakers have increasingly recognized that test scores do not exist in a vacuum; they are often influenced by school environmental factors. Some states have established more holistic systems of accountability to better capture this picture—an approach well-suited for helping to shine a spotlight on the importance of school libraries…”