Evolution of the School Library

By kbusch55

  • First Legislation for Libraries

    New York state legislature allows school districts to use some tax money to create a school library

  • First Law to Allow Libraries to Fundraise

    Massachusetts state legislature passed a law to allow school district libraries to raise money for operation.

  • First Money Set Aside for Libraries

    New York state legislature sets aside $55,000 a year to help continue to establish school libraries.

  • The American Library Association

    The American Library Association​ was created, and many publications on how to run a school library were started.

  • More States Pass Laws for Libraries

    19 state legislatures had passed some sort of law that helped the establishment and operation of school libraries.

  • Law to Allow School Library Access to Tax Money

    Much like the 1839 laws that were repealed, this law (passed in New York) allotted tax money to public school libraries in order for the libraries to buy books for their collections​.

  • NEA Joins the Library Movement

    The National Education Association​ adds a Library Division because of growing support from the ALA and influential teachers.

  • Standards for School Libraries Begin

    New York formed a School Libraries Division that created and published the first standards for elementary school libraries to follow to ensure libraries were operating properly.

  • First Trained Librarian Takes Job

    The first person to graduate a library school in the United States takes a job at Erasmus Hall High School in New York City.

  • Librarians Receive Their Deserved Raise

    New York state legislature believes trained librarians are equivalent to teachers; therefore, librarians are now paid comparable salaries to trained teachers.

  • More Standards are Developed

    The Charles C. Certain Committee researched and drafted new standards of that created the idea of a modern media center and provided measurements for future standards to be based on.

  • National School Library Standards

    "School Libraries for Today and Tomorrow" is published nationally​, and provides standards and a framework by which public school libraries follow.

  • School Library Laws Repealed

    There was a set back for public school libraries as the laws passed in 1837 and 1842 that provided tax money to school libraries was repealed in order to provide more money for public libraries​.

  • ALA Publishes Their Standards

    The American Library Association published a set of standards developed by the American Association of School Librarians that focused on services offered, responsibility of school board, and developing​ successful library programs.

  • The Media Center Grows

    The American Association of School Libraries develop​ and publish a set of standards titled "Standards for School Media Programs." These standards highlighted the emergence of the media center rather than a collection of books at a library.

  • No More Banned Books

    The​ US Supreme Court passed down a decision limited the ability of a public school to limit books in a library because the school thought the material is objectionable.

  • The White House is Involved

    A White House Conference meets and reiterates the importance of public school libraries​ as the foundation of student's education.

  • School Libraries Must Filter Internet

    A Supreme Court decision requires​ school libraries that receive e-rate funding to have filters in place on the Internet to block inappropriate material.
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    Resource

    The previous information was gathered from "Administering the School Library Media Center" by Betty J. Morris (2010)