Senate bill would require library in every Nevada school

By MEGHIN DELANEY LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

7 years ago

Students select books in the library at Bracken Elementary School,1200 N. 27th St., on Monday, Jan. 9, 2017. Bracken ES is one of 54 nationally recognized Title I schools in the country. Jeff Scheid/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @jeffscheid

Gema Mora-Aguirre, 10, selects a book in the library at Bracken Elementary School,1200 N. 27th St., on Monday, Jan. 9, 2017. Bracken ES is one of 54 nationally recognized Title I schools in the country. Jeff Scheid/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @jeffscheid

Every school in Nevada would be required to establish and maintain a library — with a dedicated librarian — under a proposal presented to the Senate education committee.

Sen. Becky Harris, R-Las Vegas, introduced Senate Bill 143 Thursday, which also mandates a librarian on staff because “a collection of books is not enough,” she said.

In Clark County alone, six high schools, eight middle schools and 27 elementary schools do not have a licensed librarian on staff as of December 2016, said Susan Slykerman, the librarian at Liberty High School and president of the Clark County School Librarians Association.

Conversations about the bill will continue and Harris said she wants to work with leaders to avoid penalizing rural or online schools with the new bill.

“The conversation is going to continue after the hearing today,” she said.

The committee took no action on the bill Thursday.

A previous version of this story stated Slykerman works at Silverado High School.

Contact Meghin Delaney at 702-383-0281 or mdelaney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @MeghinDelaney on Twitter.