Library Media Specialist in Schools: A key component to K-12 Education | A Literature Review by Amber L. Hall

Section One: Introduction

Educational Significance
There has been a significant increase in the role of certified school librarians in K through 12 education as concerns nationally regarding literacy decline and equitable access to educational resources continue to rise. Certified school librarians pose an important variable in  combating achievement gaps and the growing demand for digital and information literacy. School librarians are essential in a variety of educational aspects such as linguistic and cognitive development, motivational engagement and sociocultural equity.

Librarians extend classroom literacy instruction to expand on comprehension Strategies, support vocabulary development, and reinforce decoding and fluency skills. Librarians support cognitive development in multiple different ways. They teach students how to formulate research questions, guide them in inquiry-based learning processes, and reinforce problem solving through research task. School librarians support motivational engagement by promoting independent reading and student choice. They helped students build reading identity and ownership and match students with texts that are reflective of their interests. By providing equitable access to books and digital resources as well as provide culturally diverse materials that support English language learners and inclusive representation in literature librarians create safe spaces for diverse identities which contributes to culturally responsive educational environments.

Though there are decades of research that support the importance of library programs and librarian positions, those positions are among the first to be cut when budget reductions are to be discussed and made. When these types of decisions are made it degrades the importance of the measurable impact school librarians have on students’ academic achievement as well as overall school effectiveness.

Statement of the Problem
Though there is strong research suggesting school librarians’ positive influence on student learning, often school districts are continuing to reduce school librarian positions when budget cuts are proposed. As a result, a clear problem emerges, there is a need to examine, with a critical lens whether the current evidence is enough to support the employment of K-12 full-time certified school librarians.

The purpose of this literature review is to examine the educational impact of having a full-time certified librarian in each K through 12 school. This review will explore research related to student academic achievement, instructional collaboration, information literacy development and school effectiveness.

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