SPS library managers get full-time upgrade, join effort to boost literacy across district

Starting this fall term, Springfield Public Schools (SPS) students and families will begin seeing a lot more of their librarians. In all sites, library managers have now been converted to full time employees, a change that reflects the District’s efforts to improve literacy rates across K-12.

District leadership recognized that library manager jobs have continued to grow over the years and their work plays a crucial role in literacy efforts. Library managers not only work with every student and staff member in their buildings, but they are also responsible for circulating, tracking, and shelving thousands of library books each week, all textbooks, curriculum materials, and student devices for their school. 

“We know that students who read for pleasure experience higher academic success. By making library time fun and engaging, and promoting books that appeal to our students we have already seen an increase in circulation rates,” said Karen Babcock, library and media specialist TOSA. “Increased circulation rates mean more students are reading!”

With the increase in time and presence in each school, students and families can expect more engaging activities year-round, more library hours, updates to spaces, and better care for resources for students and staff.

For elementary schools, library managers are working on providing more engaging activities and programming for students. The effort received a Springfield Education Foundation grant for new activity stations that are tied to literacy, STEM, and art. Those stations are rolling out in the fall of 2024.

In secondary libraries, the increase in full time employment is being felt in several ways such as the creation of maker spaces, special reading nooks, or activity centers to draw students into libraries. Due to the increase in hours, secondary libraries are also more available to students and staff—in many cases, now open before and after school. 

“We are working to update our library spaces to be more inviting and user friendly,” says Babcock. "This includes dynamic shelving that looks more like a bookstore, rather than an old-fashioned library. Gentrifying our collections requires hard work behind the scenes, but result in a more user-friendly and welcoming environment where students can easily find books that appeal to them.”

In addition, library staff now have more time for professional development and collaboration with both their building staff and with each other. Our District library team's focus this year is on literacy, increasing our circulation rates, and helping students find that ‘just right’ book. 

Library managers across the district are working to create welcoming environments where students feel empowered to explore, discover, and grow academically and personally.