In other school libraries, books in this predominantly black and Latino system say that Nelson Mandela is still in jail, and that American slaves had it pretty good down on the plantation. And those are the schools which have functioning libraries at all. Mrs. Shaw says she asked administrators, who blamed the library's sorry shape on a lack of funds. So she began to try to wake up fellow parents to do something, anything, about what she calls a city-wide disgrace. The federal government stopped funding school libraries in 1976, largely on the grounds that it is best handled at the local level.
Many foundations agree, and few provide funds for school libraries.
It's not just outdated, tattered books. Many of the rooms themselves offer all the comforts of detention halls. A few standard wooden chairs and tables mark what passes for the school library at Wilson Elementary School in West Philadelphia. The shelves are largely bare now after school officials decided its dated, decrepit books belonged in a dumpster. It's not clear the school can afford to replace the collection or spruce up the drab room.