U.S. Department of Education

Institute of Education SciencesNCES 2005–324

National Center forEducation Statistics

NCES America’s 

Libraries: 

Schools and Staffing Survey

SASS

	


U.S. Department of Education

Margaret SpellingsSecretaryInstitute of Education SciencesGrover J. WhitehurstDirectorNational Center for Education StatisticsGrover J. WhitehurstActing CommissionerThe National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal entity for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data related to education in the United States and other nations. It fulfi lls a congressional mandate to collect, collate, analyze, and report full and complete statistics on the condition of education in the United States; conduct and publish reports and specialized analyses of the meaning and signifi cance of such statistics; assist state and local education agencies in improving their statistical systems; and review and report on education activities in foreign countries.NCES activities are designed to address high-priority education data needs; provide consistent, reliable, complete, and accurate indicators of education status and trends; and report timely, useful, and high-quality data to the U.S. Department of Education, the Congress, the states, other education policymakers, practitioners, data users, and the general public. Unless specifi cally noted, all information contained herein is in the public domain.We strive to make our products available in a variety of formats and in language that is appropriate to a variety of audiences. You, as our customer, are the best judge of our success in communicating information effectively. If you have any comments or suggestions about this or any other NCES product or report, we would like to hear from you. 

Please direct your c Nationa Institute  U.S. De 1990 K  WashinMay 2005The NCES World The NCES World Suggested CitatioMichie, J. S., and (NCES 2005–324)Statistics.WashingtFor ordering infor U.S. De ED Pub P.O. Bo Jessup, Call toll free 1–877Content Contact:Barbara Holton(202) 219–7095barbara.holton@ed

Contents

1 Introduction2 Summary of Data4 History of Federal Funding for School Libraries10 Other Federal Legislation Impacting School Libraries11 National Standards14 For More Information14 References
IntroductionThe past 50 years have seen a dramatic change in the status of the school library. Since the early 1950s, almost 30,000 new school 

libraries have been established, and thousands of federally funded development and collection expansion projects have enhanced existing libraries in public elementary and secondary schools. At the same time, school libraries have evolved from having a primary focus on books to providing the rich array of resources found in the information centers of today.This document begins with the 1953–54 school year, before federal funds became available to school libraries through the National Defense Education Act of 1958. Congress put school libraries on the education map when it passed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), providing $100 million specifi cally for school libraries. Until then they had been a “. . . stepchild of the library profession, and regarded by some school administrators as an appendage to the educational process rather than an integral part . . ,” according to Louise Sutherland, a program manager for school library programs in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare’s Offi ce of Education (Sutherland 1970, p. 192).

Some 20 years lfolded into blocprograms for futhe school librathe “informatiotestimony of MAmerican Asso

The school lilibrary serves and equally athinking and pschool librariseeking and udeliver conteneffectively a bnow electronic 

Today, school federal educatiof the ImprovinNo Child Left Bon School Libr
2 America’s Public School Libraries: 1953–2000

Summary of DataThis section presents a national-level table that summarizes the status of school libraries from 1953–54 to 1999–2000, followed 

by highlights of the data. Presented in the table are 11 key variables for which data were available over this nearly 50-year time frame. The national-level data come from nine federally sponsored reports or databases of national data on school libraries.The federal share of revenue for public elementary and secondary education was 4.5 percent in 1953–54 and 7.3 percent in 1999–2000 (National Center for Education Statistics 2002). State and local legislative and funding efforts that were also occurring during the time period are not discussed because they are beyond the scope of this report. The efforts at all three levels—federal, state, and local—need to be kept in mind when the descriptive data on the characteristics of libraries across the time span are considered.• At the national level, there were approximately 129,000 public 

schools in 1953–54 and 84,000 in 1999–2000 (table 1). School consolidation was a major factor in the reduction in the number of public schools (National Center for Education Statistics 2002). At the same time, in 1953–54, approximately 27.7 million students 

attended punumber of st45.0 million

• In 1953–54

centers, but students (tabhad a school school stude

• At the natio

in 1953–54 had a librari

• Nationally, f

books per pu(table 1).

• In 1953–54, 

school libraIn 1999–200excluding sa
Table 1. Historical summary of public school library media center statistics, various years, 195Characteristic 1953–54 1958–59 1 1960–61 1962–63 1 1978 

Number of public schools 128,831 82,222 102,487 83,428 83,044 Number of pupils in public schools 27,652,365 33,716,309 35,952,711 37,252,102 43,576,906 Number of public schools  with library media centers 46,880 2 41,463 2 47,546 2 49,158 2 70,854 

Percent of public schools  with library media centers 36 50 46 59 85 Number of pupils in schools  with library media centers 16,276,181 2 23,046,072 2 25,300,243 2 27,671,105 2 40,606,100 Percent of pupils in schools  with library media centers 59 68 70 74 93 Number of schools with a librarian 51,498 34,845 33,401 33,478 2 — 

Percent of schools with a librarian 40 42 33 40 —  Measures of library resources for all pubBooks per pupil 3 4,5 4 4 4 4 5 4 12 

Library expenditures  (excluding salaries) per pupil (in dollars)8 6 — 12 — — Book expenditures per pupil (in dollars)8 4 9 6 8 9 9 1—Not available.1Includes only public schools in districts with 150 or more students.2Includes only schools with formal, organized libraries; schools with classroom collections only or

 other types of library services are not included.

3National total was recalculated from individual state data.4Includes only books in formal, organized libraries.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare: Statistics of Public School Libraries, 1953–54 and 1960–61, a

Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics: Statistics of Public School Libraries/Media Centers, Fall 191985–86; Digest of Education Statistics 2001; and Schools and Staffi ng Survey (SASS), “Public School Questionnaire,” 1990

Questionnaire,” 1993–94 and 1999–2000, and 1999–2000 Schools Without Libraries Restricted-Use Data File, September 2

5Book data include on6Book and expenditur7Book and expenditur8Data are in adjusted 9Includes books and p10Includes only locally 
4 America’s Public School Libraries: 1953–2000

History of Federal Funding for School LibrariesFunding for schools and school libraries comes from a variety of sources, including federal, state, and local governments. 

The federal share of revenue for public elementary and secondary education was 4.5 percent in 1953–54 and 7.3 percent in 1999–2000 (National Center for Education Statistics 2002). State and local legislative and funding efforts that were also occurring during the time period are not discussed because they are beyond the scope of this report. The efforts at all three levels—federal, state, and local—need to be kept in mind when the descriptive data on the characteristics of libraries across the time span are considered.Federal funding for school libraries fi rst became available through the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) of 1958, which was passed by Congress in response to the launch of Sputnik by the Soviet Union during the previous year (Mathews 1998). The purpose of the legislation was to improve U.S. education, especially in the areas of science, mathematics, and foreign languages, in order to produce a better trained workforce to meet the defense needs of the country (U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare 1959). NDEA came at a time of rapid growth in the school population. As a result, some districts were focusing their attention on the construction of new 

schools and fi n

secondary consand materials.Title III of NDscience, matheDepartment of available for acof equipment thand equipmenthan textbooks. that refl ected tincome per schfunds to help fi 

money on a doNDEA funds comaterials in scbut libraries weresult, three maNDEA Title II
1966; Graham 1961; Mathews 1998). First, in some school districts, none of the books or materials purchased with NDEA funds were placed in school libraries. Second, some school administrators and librarians did not see libraries as having a primary instructional role, but rather as having a supportive role for principals and teachers. Finally, selection of materials was not handled well in some localities. These issues were later addressed through program guidelines (U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare 1967a) as well as a booklet published by the Offi ce of Education (Mahar and Remer 1965) that described the ways that school library personnel could assist the Title III program.

A number of chamendments eprovided to inc(U.S. Departmecontained a proaudiovisual librthe arts, and the Education, and its own goals for quantity and quinstruction in tspecial and exEducation, and presented implThe Elementapart of Presidenthe quality of lifdirect federal astextbooks, and Health, Educat
6 America’s Public School Libraries: 1953–2000

resources as books, periodicals, documents, audiovisual materials, and other related library materials. Funds were provided to states based on the number of public and private school students enrolled in the state. To receive the funds, states had to submit a plan to the U.S. Offi ce of Education for approval. The state plan was to include the development and revision of standards relating to library resources, textbooks, and other printed and published materials. Amendments to the legislation in 1966 permitted states to use 5 percent of their grants, or $50,000, whichever was greater, to fi nance the administration of the program. Many states coordinated their ESEA Title II programs with their NDEA Title III programs in addition to other federal programs.

Louise Sutherlathe U.S. Offi ce 

When the mo(ESEA) was would at last profession, anto the educatithe school libract which madof school librainstructional mprivate elemen

According to Joand the fundinschool librariesof state departmthe preparation and conferencAs school mediwere added, th1977). In addinew responsibi
in leadership roles in selecting, acquiring, organizing, and using instructional materials (U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare 1972).Jones (1977) found that between 1965 and 1974, the 50 states and the District of Columbia had either developed or revised standards for school library resources in elementary and secondary schools or used the standards of a professional organization. These standards had to be frequently evaluated and revised to address the changing needs and use of media. In addition, some states had developed minimum-level as well as advanced-level standards. According to Jones, Title II had a major effect on the introduction of a variety of audiovisual and other media into the classrooms. She suggested that Title II was a factor in the development of standards for these media. In addition, some states added criteria for selecting materials, such as recency of information, quality of content, and relevance to the instructional program and educational level.During the fi rst 3 years of ESEA Title II, 12 percent of all public schools (11,680 schools) established a school library (U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare 1971). These new libraries served approximately 5.6 million students. In addition, about 193,600 library 

expansion proj1968 survey of 4estimates regarof Health, Eduof all public scinfl uence on thadditional 33 pe

Additional suppII was provided the beginning othan the chang(U.S. Departmeto the second aHealth, Educatalso established Title I, a prograIn the Educatiprovided undewhich combinethe former NDEIII, guidance, c
8 America’s Public School Libraries: 1953–2000

1978, Title IV, Part B was renamed Instructional Materials and School Library Resources, and funds under this program could no longer be used for guidance, counseling, testing, and remodeling. ESEA, Title IV, Part B funds were distributed on a formula basis. In the 1981–82 school year, districts received a total of $134.5 million from ESEA, Title IV-B. Altogether, 92 percent of all districts received funds in 1981–82, and those that did not receive funds tended to be districts with fewer than 600 students enrolled (Knapp et al. 1986).Chapter 2 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981 (ECIA) consolidated 32 former categorical programs into a “block” of funds that could be used for any of the purposes designated in the prior programs (Knapp et al. 1986). One of the programs consolidated into the Chapter 2 block grant was School Library Resources, ESEA, Title IV, Part B. In the year prior to the implementation of Chapter 2, School Library Resources represented one-third of the total funding provided through all the programs consolidated into the block grant. The main goals of Chapter 2 were to improve education, reduce the administrative burden at the local level, enhance local discretion, provide for the participation of parents and school staff in the allocation of funds and the development of programs, and ensure the equitable participation of private school students.

Chapter 2 funproportion to tdistribute at leastate. Each stattotal district enwas more costfamilies and stuchoose to use tlibrary resourcelocal level (Knacommon use opercent of all dof all districts). grant funds werFrom the enacin 1981, federato school librarthere were no feschool librariesfor school libra
According to Hopkins and Butler (1991, p. 34),

When education programs were consolidated, school library media programs became competitors for funding at the local and state levels with many other programs. Although many school library media programs received funding in the consolidated laws, the consolidation of education programs ended the consistent growth of library media programs throughout the nation. What has resulted is a “haves” and “have-nots” existence of programs.

The Hawkins-Stafford Elementary and Secondary School Improvement Amendments of 1988 repealed ECIA Chapter 2 and replaced it with Chapter 2 of Title I. In the 1988 legislation, one area in which assistance could be targeted was the acquisition and use of instructional and educational materials, including library books, reference materials, computer software and hardware for instructional use, and other curricular materials.

U.S. Senator Jlibraries. In Feintroduced a biadvanced technand support thaSenator Reed e

Too many boharmful stereostate of affairs years ago dedgrant. By bloccommitment schoollibrarie

The Reed-CocBehind Act of 2(LSL) ProgramLocal school dserved are from eligible to applyear of the progrants were awa
10 America’s Public School Libraries: 1953–2000

Other Federal Legislation Impacting School LibrariesBeginning in 1964, federal support for public libraries was provided through the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA). 

Included in the purpose of LSCA was the promotion of interlibrary cooperation and resource sharing among all types of libraries. Similarly, the 1966 amendments to ESEA Title II called for the coordination of Title II programs with programs conducted under the LSCA at both the state and local levels (U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare 1969b). As a result, some states had representatives from the LSCA staff or State Library serve on the Title II advisory committees and vice versa. At the local level, cooperative planning was done by local school and public library administrators in some communities.Federal support to libraries changed in 1996, when the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) replaced LSCA. The purposes of LSTA were

(1) to consolidate Federal library service programs; (2) to stimulate excellence and promote access to learning and information resources in all types of libraries for individuals of all ages; (3) to promote library services that provide all users access to information through State, regional, 

national, and among and bpeople of diveto individuals literacy or info

LSTA funding population-basappropriations they may distriband special libagreements. Fuinformation shaccessible to uhave diffi culty 
National StandardsThe fi rst set of school library standards appeared in a report, Standard Library Organization and Equipment for Secondary 

Schools of Different Sizes, which was prepared by the Committee on Library Organization and Equipment within the National Education Association’s (NEA’s) Department of Secondary Education (Gann 1998). The report was adopted by the NEA in 1918 and by the American Library Association (ALA) in 1920. ALA then published the report as standards for secondary school libraries. According to Gann (1998), these standards were quantitative and established many of the basic ideas about the school library, the role of the school librarian, and professional training of the school librarian. In 1925, NEA and ALA jointly prepared a set of standards for elementary school libraries. It should be noted that the NEA and ALA standards were recommended standards from professional associations and were not mandatory. However, these standards served as guides to states in preparing their own standards and probably infl uenced the development of regional standards as well.The national school library standards that were in place during the 1950s, the starting point for this report, were published in 1945 by the ALA in the document School Libraries for Today and Tomorrow

(Gann 1998). Tlibrary in educpersonnel; boolibrary; and adquantitative mean attempt to listaffi ng specifi c1954). For botfor the size of t1,700 titles for 8,000 titles for were also given for audiovisual for print materiwith 200 studendollars) for largIn 1960, the Aprepared a new library services They were publ
12

The three parts of the 1960 standards document were the school library as an educational force, planning and implementing school library programs, and resources for teaching and learning. The standards broadened the scope of the school library program by incorporating audiovisual materials to a greater extent, although few quantitative standards were developed for them. Quantitative staffi ng standards were given based on school enrollment (Darling 1964). The standard for the book collection was a minimum of 6,000 to 10,000 books for schools with 200 to 999 students; 10 books per student was the standard for schools with 1,000 or more students. The standard for the book budget was at least $1,000 to $1,500 ($5,759 to $8,638 in 1999–2000 dollars) for schools with 200 to 249 students and at least $4.00 to $6.00 ($23.03 to $34.55 in 1999–2000 dollars) per student for schools with 250 or more students. Other standards addressed the budget for supplementary and audiovisual materials.

According to JPrograms have 

and the develothat the publicaAASL campaigof school library them. A distinctto develop the In 1969, AASL (DAVI) jointly dserved to coordiprograms, and (Jones 1977). Tqualitative and for standards incontinued to bbook collection 10,000 volumewith 250 or mmaterials were 

America’s Public School Libraries: 1953–2000
Since many changes were occurring in the areas of technology and education, the standards were revised in 1975 as Media Programs: District and School (Gann 1998). They were developed jointly by AASL and the new independent Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT), previously NEA’s DAVI. The focus of the document was on qualitative goals for the school and the district, but quantitative recommendations were given for staffi ng, collections, and facilities. For schools with 500 students or fewer, a minimum collection was 20,000 items, or 40 items per student (Jones 1977). An item may be a book, periodical subscription, various types of audiovisual materials, or associated equipment. Larger schools could have fewer than 40 items per student. Quantitative standards were also provided for each type of item. The standard for books was 8,000 to 12,000 volumes, or 16 to 24 per user.Another milestone was the publication in 1988 of Information Power: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs, prepared jointly by AASL and AECT. The text of Information Power was primarily 

qualitative with some quantitative recommendations presented in the areas of personnel and facilities. In addition, an appendix in Information Power presented quantitative data, based on a reanalysis 

of survey data flevels of supporvarying sizes andata rather than in the 1998 vePartnerships for the illustrative 
14

For More InformationThis document provides basic information on school libraries from 1953–54 to 1999–2000 and is based on the report Fifty Years of 

Supporting Children’s Learning: A History of Public School Libraries and Federal Legislation from 1953–2000 (NCES 2005–311). The full report is divided into four sections that present categories of historical data about public school library media centers: national-level data, regional-level data, school-level data, and state-level data. All tables of library data contain the same 11 key variables as in table 1 on page 3. The full report also includes four appendixes: Per Pupil Measures, Adjusting Dollars Using the Consumer Price Index, States in Regional Accrediting Associations, and Standard Error Tables.The full report is available on the NCES website at http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/libraries/ and print copies can be ordered from ED Pubs from the NCES publication page.

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