The Seed Field

School Librarians Are Essential, So Why Are These Jobs Disappearing?

Episode Summary

A conversation about widening disparities in access to school librarians.

Episode Notes

There’s a quiet epidemic wiping out school librarian positions across the U.S. Between 2015 and 2019, the number of librarians declined by 20%, and one in five school librarian positions was eliminated entirely. But why is nobody noticing? According to researcher and Antioch faculty Deb Kachel, it might be because there hasn’t been a nationwide data set showing the staggering numbers—until now. In this conversation, we talk with Kachel about the SLIDE project, the way marginalized communities are hit hardest by the loss of school librarians, and how communities can fight back. 

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Visit the SLIDE project’s website, libslide.org, and don’t miss their data browser where you can look up your local school district and see how many librarians it currently employs. You can also read the article that Deb and her co-authors recently published in the Peabody Journal of education: “The School Librarian Equity Gap: Inequities Associated with Race and Ethnicity Compounded by Poverty, Locale, and Enrollment.”

Deb teaches in Antioch University’s School of Education

This episode was recorded October 30, 2023 via Riverside.fm and released November 15, 2023. 

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The Seed Field Podcast is produced by Antioch University

Host: Jasper Nighthawk

Editor: Johanna Case

Digital Design: Mira Mead

Web Content Coordination: Jen Mont

Work-Study Interns: Sierra-Nicole E. DeBinion, Carrie Hawthorn, Stefanie Paredes, and Georgia Bermingham.  

A special thanks to Karen Hamilton, Amelia Bryan, and Melinda Garland

To access a full transcript and find more information about this and other episodes, visit theseedfield.org. To get updates and be notified about future episodes, follow Antioch University on Facebook.