SLJ budget and funding survey findings

 more than half of school libraries in the United States—57 percent—report operating with “unmet needs,” according to School Library Journal’s 2026 Budget and Spending Survey. The survey, completed by 820 school libraries, examines current year (2025–26), prior year (2024–25), and projected library media center (LMC) budgets, revealing a largely flat funding environment across school types.

Within the data, the survey reveals how multiple factors, including burdensome approval and purchasing processes, rising collection expenses, and a growing need for alternative funding sources, exacerbate the impact of flat budgets in a period of economic uncertainty. This data is not only notable, but should help drive advocacy for school funding going forward.

Topics include demographics, district and state challenges, diversity funding, book fairs, staffing, and partnerships. 

Witteveen, A. (2026). 2026 budgets funding survey: School libraries face unmet needs. School Library Journal. https://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/story/2026-Budgets-Funding-Survey-School-Librarians-face-Unmet-Needs

Diversity in Librarianship Study

 A new study highlights areas of growth for improving diversity across the library field. The study draws on qualitative research from 50 library professionals representing various genders, race, tenures, ages, and geography.

"Seven key findings emerged:

1. For library professionals, “diversity” is a complex term. Understanding its nuances can help focus and advance the diversification of librarianship.
2. Increasing awareness and education about librarianship can create a stronger foundation — and, theoretically, a more diverse pipeline — for the future of the profession.
3. Mentorship is invaluable. Developing more and larger networks of mentorship can support librarians and break down navigational challenges that traditionally — and disproportionately — impact underrepresented communities.
4. Creating a positive workplace culture and providing managerial training can strengthen onboarding experiences, foster inclusion and encourage culture change within libraries.
5. Librarians need support from leadership, both from their direct supervisors and their institutions.
6. Professional development and compensation must be considered when evaluating retention efforts.
7. Future diversity efforts should consider both micro- and macro-level approaches. Micro-level approaches follow a bottom-up framing with support from individuals and local-level libraries. Macro-level approaches rely on a top-down framing with more organizational and institutional support."

American Library Association and Gallup. (2025). Empowering voices, inspiring change: Advancing diversity within librarianship. American Library Association. https://www.ala.org/news/2025/02/american-library-association-and-gallup-release-new-diversity-study

Diversity Improvements Needed in Education

According to one report, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices have a positive impact on staff recruitment, retention, and overall favorability. Among "advanced" DEI organizations, for example, nearly all of staff promote the organization, while over half— regardless of race — report that they intend to stay with their organizations for the next three years. And while the report found that fewer than half of respondent organizations have formal DEI policies in place, every organization that participated in the survey is focused on DEI to an extent. At the same time, one fourth of staff respondents report experiencing discrimination in the workplace, with staff of color are much more likely to report having had such an experience. The report also found that when compared to the percentage of African-American and Latino pre-K-12 students, the percentage of African-American and Latino leaders in American education remains unbalanced.

Padamsee, X. & Crowe, B. (2017). Unrealized impact the case for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Arlington, VA: Foundation Working Group. http://www.unrealizedimpact.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Unrealized_Impact-Final-072017.pdf

Research shows a teacher-diversity gap in schools that may contribute to lower achievement among some student groups. Some school systems, including one in California (Partnerships to Uplift Communities Schools), have expanded teacher-recruiting efforts to high-school graduates.

Quintaro, D. , Putnam, H, Walsh, K., & Hansen, M. (2016). High hopes and harsh realities: The real challenges to building a diverse teacher workforce. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.
https://www.brookings.edu/research/high-hopes-and-harsh-realities-the-real-challenges-to-building-a-diverse-teacher-workforce/

Gershenson, S., & Papageorge, N. (2016).   Who believes in me? The effect of student-teacher demographic match on teacher expectations. Economics of Education Review, 52, 209-224.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272775715300959

Diversity in YA novels

With increasingly diverse service populations, especially among younger patrons, libraries are in need of more titles featuring individuals from varied backgrounds. Librarians often rely upon preassembled title lists, such as YALSA’s Best Books for Young Adults (BBYA) list or the Publishers Weekly bestsellers list, to make collection development decisions. This study examined three such lists for the prevalence of diverse protagonists, with the goal of determining which list most closely aligns with actual demographic data for U.S. teens. Award-winning, Teens’ Top Ten, and bestselling titles were included in the study. Overall, the award-winning title list included the highest percentage of protagonists belonging to most marginalized demographic groups, while the bestselling title list included the lowest percentages in these categories. However, all three lists underrepresented protagonists from certain demographic categories. Based on these results, it is recommended that librarians supplement list-based collection development with purposive collection of titles featuring minority protagonists and/or written by minority authors.
Rawson, C. (2013). Are all lists created equal? Diversity in award-winning and best-selling young adult fiction. Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults (6).
http://www.yalsa.ala.org/jrlya/2011/06/are-all-lists-created-equal-diversity-in-award-winning-and-bestselling-young-adult-fiction/

Librarian diversity report

ALA has released new data to update “Diversity Counts,” a comprehensive study of gender, race, age, and disability in the library profession. Using 2009–2010 American Community Survey analyses, new data reveals a small gain—from 11% in 2000 to 12% in 2009–2010—in the percentage of racial and ethnic minorities working as credentialed librarians in the nation’s public, academic, and school libraries. While credentialed librarians remain predominantly female and white, this new data provides a fuller picture of diversity within the profession today.
American Library Association. (2012). Diversity Counts. Chicago: ALA.
 http://www.ala.org/offices/diversity/diversitycounts/divcounts