The Delaware Library Association (DLA) proudly supports Sen. Sarah McBride’s, D-Wilmington, Senate Bill 195, The Digital Citizenship Education Act.
The Digital Citizenship Education Act requires the Department of Education to develop and maintain evidence-based media literacy standards for public and charter K-12 schools. The American Library Association’s Digital Literacy Task Force defines digital literacy as “the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create and communicate information.” Increased access to digital media and information technology requires proportionally increased guidance on how to effectively navigate the digital landscape.
It’s more important than ever for everyone, but especially children, to have a foundational knowledge of information literacy and critical thinking. When we have statewide standards in place for teaching these skills, that will help to ensure that all of Delaware’s students have access to the tools needed to think critically about where information comes from and what information bias looks like. The bill stipulates that “standards and instructional materials must be age-appropriate and must address appropriate, responsible and healthy online behavior.”
Delaware Library Association’s Legislative Action Committee, our school library division (Delaware Association of School Libraries, or DASL) and our partner organization, EveryLibrary, worked closely with Sen. McBride to amend the bill’s language to bring libraries to the table. Libraries and library workers always strive to meet our communities’ information access and information literacy needs, and an initiative like this one is certainly in the scope of our work — especially those of us who work in school libraries. We’re happy to report that our suggested amendments were approved, and both certified school librarians and the Delaware state librarian are included as people the Department of Education may consult for technical expertise regarding the media literacy standards. We’re especially grateful to Sen. McBride for her leadership on the bill and to DLA and DASL member Harry Brake, school media specialist at Woodbridge High School in Bridgeville, for bringing the concerns of school librarians to the attention of Sen. McBride and to all of us in the Delaware Library Association.
School librarians should have the capacity to support students with all their literacy needs, both traditional and digital, and school library staff are trained and qualified to be responsive to meeting those needs in a rapidly changing world. However, in order for this initiative to be enacted equitably in Delaware’s schools, there’s a greater need than ever for certified school librarians in every school in Delaware, and for those school librarians to have administrative support and adequate funding. Studies have consistently shown that certified school library staff make a noticeable difference in student achievement, but school libraries across the country are facing a crisis of a lack of funding and a lack of qualified, full-time staff. Delaware is not immune to those challenges. In our state, the number of full-time employed school librarians has fallen by over 22% in the last decade. Even in those schools where the library has a full-time employee, staffing challenges due to COVID-19 mean that school library staff are often pulled to assist with duties outside of their normal scope of work, and their library work is not given priority. There’s also been a growing trend of investment in spaces and technology, without an investment in staff.
We at DLA want to make sure everyone in Delaware understands that school libraries are not just spaces or collections of books — they’re people. Interacting with and interpreting information is a skill that students will need throughout their lives. Without qualified professionals to help students navigate new technology and the information accessible through that technology, Delaware’s students will not be set up for future success.
You can join DLA in advocating for Delaware’s school librarians! Here’s how:
Read the full text of SB 195 here: legis.delaware.gov/billdetail?legislationid=78981.
Jen Wilson works at the New Castle Public Library and is president of the Delaware Library Association. DLA is a small, all-volunteer organization promoting the profession of librarianship and advocating for all of Delaware’s libraries, library workers and patrons. Learn more by visiting dla.lib.de.us.
