New York: Elementary school librarians on endangered list

Link to February 13 Albany (NY) Times-Union article.

Excerpt:
Children may someday file school librarian with the dodo bird or Caspian tiger under extinction.

“During budget shortfalls, school librarians are among the first to be considered for cuts,” said Michael Borges, executive director of the New York Library Association.

To cope with the fallout from the financial crisis, Gov. David Paterson’s proposed budget would cut $698 million in state education spending, forcing every school district to weigh staff and program reductions.

State mandates require only that students in seventh through 12th grade have school librarians, so elementary school librarians are most vulnerable in times of economic crisis, Borges said.