Check out some interesting resources at Santa Monica’s public library: people.   Here’s information google can’t touch. Patrons can “check out” experts on health, civics, advocates and just plain neat folks for brief conversation opportunities. It’s their “Living Library Project,” and I’d hate to see the over due fines on one of these!

Long Beach Councilperson puts her money where her mouth is; if you want change, you have to ask for it!  Gerrie Schipske uses a district-wide collection of “spare change” to help fund public libraries. So simple, this idea just might work.

Superintendent Linda Paramore says to deal with this reality, the school board has sent every employee a pink slip.

From NPR: In Pontiac, Mich., Schools, Everyone Gets A Pink Slip.

Long Beach Unified has just published the results of a comprehensive budget survey, designed to help identify priority programs as huge budget cuts loom. There were almost 6200 responses and among the top results were elementary and middle school libraries. 

Here are the results broken down  for middle school:

This tells me a few things about. First, it clearly demonstrates that parents, teachers, and administrators are noticing how important school libraries are to the educational process. I often feel like I’m just a broken record, having to repeat over and over again all the ways I’m closely involved in learning. Results like these whisper to me, “Hey, people notice. ” It’s nice to hear. 

Secondly, I think it’s very interesting how two reading-involved programs (School Libraries and Reading Intervention) out-weigh math. My experience has been that Language Arts teachers are constantly having to point out that acquiring reading skills is a vastly different (and much less clear-cut) process than acquiring math skills. It’s not that reading is harder or more important, but the process is just so complicated, lengthy, and vital to proficiency in every toher content area that we can’t let reading development out of our sights for second. Results like these lend support to this point of view. 

The results of this survey are meant only to “assist” in deciding which programs will be cut, and with California’s financial situation worsening everyday (today was the first Furlough Friday!) I’m certain school libraries will be affected in some way. My hope is that if they do cut our funding, it will neither be hasty nor will it be overly deep. LBUSD now knows that people, and lots of them, will be watching what happens to their school libraries. 

Full LBUSD Survey Results

UPDATE: As of Feb. 18, this is the official word from our Chief Library Lady: ” No mention has been made whatsoever of changing Librarians for next school year.”  Hopefully it will stay that way. A huge “Thank You” to everyone who completed the survey (and convinced their friends and family take it too!); our students really owe you one.

CONTINUED UPDATE: The LBUSD School Board just held their last meeting before the MArch 15 “pick Slip” deadline, with no one getting lay off notices. Whew!

It was a very sobering meeting on the Long Beach Board of Education tonight (1/26/09). The topic was to be the huge cuts coming to education funds once Sacramento has its way. Of course, the Long Beach librarians were there in number. We know from experience that when budgets get tight, our funding is always quietly called into question, and we want them to know we’re paying attention.

There was bleak fact after bleak fact presented by Kim Stallings, our CFO. Long Beach will loose another $20 this year in funds. We have already cut $20 million, so this $20 is just extra added pain. No relief in sight for next year, or perhaps the year after that. Glazed expressions and furrowed brows abounded throughout those present.

However, noting was more surprising than the final announcement made by Superintendent Chris Steinhauser : he stated that he would voluntarily be taking a 10% pay cut effective for the 09-10 fiscal year. That funding would be set aside specifically to assist Long Beach employees who were struggling through the economic crisis. He was visibly full of emotion as he reminded us “we’re all a family, here.” He spoke about his own experience growing up through tough financial times, and felt the need to personally answer President Obama’s call to pitch in. He received a standing ovation, both from the board and from the audience, after this unexpected announcement.

As I am writing, this, I still don’t know where to begin responding to this completely unforeseen event. This act of kindness comes at a time when financial stress has us all pointing fingers and worrying about our own futures. I would predict that very person who was at that meeting attended with a (understandably) fearful heart. Whose job would be safe? Whose program would be spared? I know I personally mull over the implications of our library closing almost on a daily basis. Whatever one’s opinion may be of the governance of our school district, and there are many, I have new found respect for our Superintendent. At time when all of us are wondering “Why doesn’t someone just do something;” it seems,  at least here in LB, someone has.