The Philadelphia Alliance to Restore School Librarians (PARSL), with support from EveryLibrary conducted a survey of candidates running for Philadelphia City Council and Mayor.

Volunteers from PARSL’s Political Allies Research Group compiled the survey to educate candidates about school libraries in the Philadelphia School District and to gauge their support for school libraries staffed by certified school librarians. Currently, the District has the equivalent of one full-time librarian for all its 218 schools, a fact that most Philadelphians are surprised to learn.

EveryLibrary sent a link to the survey by email in mid-March to 59 registered candidates for City Council and Mayor.  Forty-nine of those emails were opened. Twenty-three candidates completed the survey. Six started the survey, but didn’t complete it.

The candidates for City Council and the candidates for Mayor who completed the survey are identified below:

Mayoral Candidates (in alphabetical order): Helen Gym, David Oh, Rebecca Rhynhart

City Council Candidates (in alphabetical order): Nina Ahmad, Jalon Alexander, Seth Anderson-Oberman, Cindy Bass, Christopher Gladstone Booth, Kendra Brooks, Sherrie Cohen, Andres Celin, Gary Grisafi, Jim Hasher, Job Itzkowitz, John B. Kelly, Rue Landau, Amanda McIllmurray, Drew Murray, Sam Oropeza, Michelle Prettyman, Curtis Segers, James A. Williams II, Yvette Young

Results of the survey  

• The majority of the candidates have visited a school library in the past three years and described a person or experience that influenced their feelings about providing school libraries.  
• More than half thought that 6 to 12 district schools have a state-certified school librarian. Fifteen thought that 6 to 20 district schools had a school library open to all students and staff. A little over half of the respondents thought that 6 to 20 schools had school libraries run by volunteers.
• All of the candidates strongly agreed that providing school libraries in every district school would improve student achievement and that all K-12 schools should have a trained, certified school librarian.
• All of the candidates agreed that the lack of learning resources and certified school librarians is a social injustice that handicaps student learning.  Twenty-three strongly agreed.
• All of the candidates agreed that the mission of SDP cannot be realized without the instruction provided by state-certified school librarians in school libraries. Nineteen strongly agreed.
• All candidates agreed that school librarians and school libraries are essential to meet the Reading Goal: Every student reads on or above grade level. Twenty-one strongly agreed.
• All agreed that school librarians and school libraries are essential to meet the College & Career Goal: Every student graduates ready for college and careers. Twenty strongly agreed.
• All but one candidate strongly agreed that it is important that all students and teachers have access to professionally curated and vetted print and digital resources (e.g. ebooks and databases) for learning. 
• All agreed that all K-12 SDP students should be taught library and information skills as adopted by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and that every district-operated school has a library program led by a state-certified school librarian. The majority strongly agreed.
• All but one candidate strongly agreed that a lack of access to school libraries puts students at a disadvantage in terms of readiness for college and career, especially when compared with peers in other districts, and that all schools should have comparable library staffing and library collections. The remaining candidate agreed.
• All candidates agreed or strongly agreed that if elected, they would work to allocate funds to have certified school librarians and school libraries in each school; work with the School Board to prioritize the employment of certified school librarians; support an equitable, phased-in program to add school librarians and libraries over several years to SDP schools.  
• A majority of candidates agreed that if elected, they would be in favor of a ballot question to fund school librarians. Five indicated that they were neutral or had no opinion.

All of the candidates who responded were very supportive of school libraries and librarians. Those who chose to write a comment described a variety of influences that led to their support of school libraries. Some stated that they have children in district schools. Others described the role that their school library and librarian played in their education as well as their artistic development. Those that had worked in public schools stated that they saw firsthand how important school libraries and librarians were to academic success, especially in reading. A few described how their school library provided a safe and welcoming place and a lifeline for children that come from immigrant homes.  

The survey was intended to educate candidates about school libraries in the Philadelphia School District and to gauge their support for school libraries staffed by certified school librarians. It appears that for those who completed the survey, it succeeded in its intent.

RESOURCES

You can view all of the quantitative responses to this survey at this link (opens Excel).

You can read the whole survey at this link (opens PDF)

For questions about this survey or media contacts, please email [email protected].