NYC Ordered To Hire More High School Librarians

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- New York City has been ordered to provide high schools with enough librarians to meet state regulations.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, state Education Commissioner John King has told the city Department of Education it must stop violating rules on the minimum number of librarians.

The United Federation of Teachers had appealed to the commissioner to force the city to comply with regulations spelling out how many high school librarians are necessary. The city had asked the state to waive the requirement.

King said in a decision signed Sept. 15 that the union didn't have standing to argue on behalf of students deprived of librarians' help. But he said the city must comply with the staffing minimums.

A spokeswoman for the city Education Department said the department would work on a plan to address the issue.

Last year, teachers, librarians, parents, students and lawmakers held a protest in Manhattan calling for the city to comply with the minimum staffing levels.

Sara Kelly Johns of the New York Library Association said then it would cost about $24 million for the city to staff libraries at state standards.

"We have the magic job of collecting the right resources, but they just sit there unless the students are taught how to use them," Johns said.

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