A survey conducted by the California Community Foundation's Schoolbook Partners Action Committee found what it termed a "book crisis" in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Although the survey of 151 schools found that the main problem in high schools and middle schools was textbook shortages, in elementary schools the lack of library books was a more serious concern.
While 68.3% of middle schools reported an inadequate supply of library books, 27 of the 35 elementary schools surveyed said their supplies were inadequate. Only half had a librarian, and those that did only employed them part-time.
Nine of the schools had no library at all; the report noted that recent a class-size reduction initiative aimed at achieving a 20-to-1 pupil-teacher ratio meant giving up library space to provide additional classrooms.
A new state education budget that slates $158.5 million annually for library materials promises to improve the situation.
Posted September 28, 1998.