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CILIPS Statement on North Lanarkshire School Libraries

CILIPS #SchoolLibrariesAreEssential with white text on a blackboard background and multicoloured school tools as a border.

CILIPS are deeply concerned to hear of the plans to remove school librarian posts by North Lanarkshire Council.

On 24th February 2020, North Lanarkshire Council set a multi-year revenue budget of savings to be implemented up to 2022/2023, with one area of savings identified to review school library services and save £657,000. This was to be achieved by integrating school and community library provision, with North Lanarkshire Council now confirming that 23 full-time equivalent posts will be removed from secondary schools.

Last week, and in advance of these changes being confirmed, CILIPS wrote to the Council about this situation.

We believe that removing school librarian posts will severely damage the service and will directly affect the quality of education they offer pupils as well as severely undermine efforts nationally to improve literacy rates and attainment. We believe that school libraries should be the central resource of the school, open every day and staffed by a trained and full-time librarian. We urge the Council to reconsider this decision.

A petition has been set up in support of the school librarians, which the entire CILIPS staff team have signed. For further evidence of why school librarians are essential in Scotland, please visit our extensive campaign evidence bank or learn more about the work of School Libraries Group Scotland via their CILIPS webpage.