Digital divide, lack of certified librarians ‘a national crisis’

Barbara Stripling, president of the American Library Association, said students, teachers, and librarians are facing “a silent dilemma.”

Stripling was one of three panelists who spoke at the National Press Club on May 6 about the “second wave of the digital divide.” The first wave is the lack of equal access to computers and the Internet. The second wave comes when those students who lack access grow up without ever learning necessary technology skills. They may be unable to complete homework assignments or tell the difference between a random blog and a reputable source for research papers. They may not know how to search for jobs, or to find information about going to college.

Seventy-five percent of teachers are assigning homework to students that require a “digital environment,” Stripling said, but only 54 percent of teachers say they believe all of their students have access to those tools. “The school library then becomes the most powerful place for them,” she said. “School librarians are in charge of that training, of providing those tools. That is the responsibility of the school librarian.”

But not all school librarians are qualified to do this sort of training, Striping admitted. Too many public schools do not hire state-certified librarians, she said, instead relying on well-intentioned but unqualified members of their community. About one-third of public school libraries don’t have full-time, state-certified librarians, according to a 2013 report authored by Kathy Rosa, director of the ALA’s Office for Research and Statistics.

Fifty-six percent of public charter schools do not employ state-certified librarians. “It’s a national crisis,” Stripling said. “There are entire communities that have absolutely no certified librarians.” Initiatives like ConnectED and the E-Rate program may help, the panelists said, but libraries simply need more funding to make a difference.