Author Patricia Polacco, No Child Left Behind, & Rhode Island School Libraries

I've never had so much response as I have had to the articles on Patricia. I am giving you a link above to "Publishers' Weekly" which gives even more info. Polacco emphasizes here that she is complaining about NCLB, rather than McGraw-Hill. Of course, she is also quite upset about the thought of being legally pursued by the mega-publisher (who wouldn't be). One might also wonder at the role the IRA (International Reading Assoc.) played or didn't play in this fiasco as this was THEIR conference (Note: Everytime I used to tell my husband that I was going to an IRA meeting, you could see the look of amazement on his face. So, every time I would have to say that it wasn't the local Irish Republican Army meeting, to his great relief).

NCLB basically ignored libraries & librarians. Well, of course, Otherwise, they would have to be funded then, wouldn't they. The R.I. Standards for Libraries are pitiful. They were written in the sixties. I was still in high school. They exist because the federal government started mandating libraries in schools & was generous with funding. Boy, have things changed!

School libraries (elem.) are mandated to spend $600/yr. For 250-499 students they must spend $1.75/pupil. These were written when a book proably cost $1.75. Libraries didn't have much else besides books. RIEMA (the Rhode Island Educational Media Association) has tried many times to change this, but no luck. I was a member of the ALA (American Library Assoc.), but quit as I found them utterly useless in their regard for school libraries/librarians & the challenges that they faced on a daily basis.

School librarians are basically cut out of the NCLB picture. Imagine, the people in a school system who know the MOST about childrens' lit, various types of media, & info skills (along with computer skills & data management) are marginalized. Well, it's probably just as well, They're so spread out in school systems self-managing outdated libraries with paper card catalogues (& teaching students how to use this outdated system), that they really have little time to think. Audio-visual materials are even worse off. They are not even mentioned. But then schools are still playing catch-up with the invention of the telephone. I could go on here, but why? You get my drift. Have things changed in the 3 yrs. I've been out of the field? Yeah, probably about as much as my looks have improved!