NYC Council Member Lincoln Restler speaks at a rally for public faculty libraries on April 8, 2025.
Photograph by Barbara Russo-Lennon
Dozens of public faculty mother and father, college students and librarians rallied at Metropolis Corridor Park on Tuesday urging town to convey again public faculty libraries and librarians — academic assets which were downsized over the past 20 years.
Organizers, together with Librarians = Literacy, a parent-led advocacy group, held indicators that learn messages akin to “Let Me Read” and “Moms For Libraries” as they known as for the restoration of crucial library assets.
Throughout the rally, which passed off earlier than an April 8 NYC Council Committee listening to on schooling, advocates urged the council to go the Librarians Depend Invoice, often known as Intro. 1125. The laws would require the NYC Division of Schooling (DOE) to make public the variety of licensed librarians and faculty library entry that is still within the public faculty system.
Christina Gavin, a librarian at a highschool in Brooklyn, mentioned libraries have many advantages for youngsters and that they need to be included in additional public colleges.
“Students come together and do their homework, collaborate with their peers, and study for tests in libraries,” she mentioned. “Unfortunately, this is my 13th year in the DOE, and I worked for five years as a special education teacher in the Bronx in three different buildings before I became a librarian. until I became a librarian, I did not work in a school that had a functioning library. Many of my students report that this is the first time they had a library in their school.”
As much as 30% of faculties don’t have any entry to a library, and solely 28% of secondary colleges have entry to a legally required licensed librarian, Brooklyn Metropolis Council Member Lincoln Restler, a sponsor of the Librarians Depend Invoice, mentioned.
Dad and mom, lecturers and college students rallied for public faculty libraries in Metropolis Corridor Park on April 8, 2025.Photograph by Barbara Russo-Lennon
In line with Restler, librarians in colleges are confirmed to spice up school-wide literacy, equal entry to info and take a look at scores, amongst different indicators. Some mother and father on the rally famous that their youngsters’s ardour for studying waned when they didn’t have entry to a college library.
“If the Adams administration is serious about promoting literacy in our public schools, we need a librarian and a library in every school,” Restler mentioned, “As the federal government continues to attack vital institutions like our libraries, it’s never been more important that we protect and ensure access for all New York City public school students.”
Advocate for public faculty libraries in NYC dressed as ‘Where’s Waldo?’Photograph by Barbara Russo-Lennon
The Libraries Depend Invoice would require DOE to report on the variety of licensed and non-certified faculty librarians, the variety of college students who’ve weekly scheduled class time with faculty librarians, the common quantity of weekly class time college students spend with faculty librarians, the variety of faculty libraries, and the hours of operation of every faculty library.
“When my child first came into a NYC public school, I was shocked to find out that our school did not have a library or a librarian,” writer and public faculty father or mother Adam Godwitz mentioned. “Librarians are so important to authors and our lives. I couldn’t believe it.”
The New York Public Library experiences that college libraries are a “critical part” of a kid’s schooling. In line with the library system, faculty libraries are the place college students can get instruction, steerage on do analysis, entry to print and on-line assets, particular occasions, and ideas for unbiased studying.
New York News contacted the DOE for remark and data on functioning public faculty libraries in NYC and is awaiting a response.
