AI in school libraries report

A recent report examined K-12 teaching about AI. Some of the key recommendations are based more around how we assign and assess student work, rather than on AI as a specific technology. For example, the report suggested moving away from AI detectors or other adversarial approaches to assessment re-design and instead seeking more valid evidence of student understanding. 

Harris, C. et al. (2026). TeachingAbout.AI K-12 Field Report.  Teaching About. https://teachingabout.ai/report-for-the-k-12-field/

For Classroom Teachers

• Move from punishment to a restorative protocol for suspected AI misuse: conversation, redo opportunity, explicit teaching about the purpose of the assignment.
• Pilot Black Box Assessment in two or three units per grade band where the work has traditionally been a take-home product. Capture and credit the rough draft, the revision, and the rationale—not only the final paper.
• Use AI feedback as preparation for human feedback, not as a substitute. A chatbot can scaffold a first draft; only a teacher can tell a student what the work means and provide recognition.

For Principals and Instructional Leaders

• Reframe district planning documents from “AI policy” to “teaching and learning in an AI-mediated context.” The shift is not cosmetic; it changes what counts as a relevant solution and who needs to be in the room.
• Issue explicit, written permission from district leadership: this is the year we redesign. Specify what divergence is allowed, what evidence is requested, and what supports are available.
• Replace “AI ban” and “AI mandate” framings with explicit harm-reduction policies. Name the harms (engagement-driven design, parasocial bonding, deepfake abuse) and the mitigations.

For School Librarians

• Empower school librarians as in-house consultants on task redesign. Their co-teaching role across subject areas makes them well placed to coach colleagues through structural redesign one unit at a time.
• Use the LibraryReady.AI PreK–12 scope and sequence as a backbone. It is grade-banded, librarian-friendly, and built for exactly this work in all levels of classrooms.
• Treat school librarians as the in-district R&D unit. Their broad view across classrooms, their information-evaluation skills, and their relationship to the LibraryReady.AI scope and sequence make them ideal redesign partners.

Harris, C. et al. (2026). TeachingAbout.AI K-12 Field Report

Book Censorship and School Librarians' Role Research

A recent study examined how school librarians in a Texas school district are impacted by book censorship policies. This research found that book censorship has a detrimental effect on school librarians, both in their day-to-day work, and in plans for their future career and job satisfaction. The researchers acknowledge the small, localized sample size, and recommend future research in other areas, as well as qualitative research on the mental health and stress of school librarians with factors besides censorship and collection development.

Misty Schattle, M. & O’Connor, J. (2026). Books and Barriers: The Influence of Book Censorship on the Role of School Librarians, Their Self-Efficacy, and Well-Being. School Library Research, 29. https://www.ala.org/sites/default/files/2026-06/schattleandoconnor.pdf  

Full-time School Librarians Study

 

This study examines the impact of school librarian full-time equivalent (FTE) levels on student achievement in Missouri using state-level assessment data. Results indicated that schools with full-time librarians had significantly higher proficiency rates compared to schools with part-time or no librarians. Furthermore, the effect sizes demonstrated the positive impact of having a school librarian on student achievement across school levels and content areas. This study provides evidence supporting the importance of school librarians in enhancing student performance on state-level assessment

Burress, R., Atkins, C., McDonald, B., & Burress, D. (2023). The power of full-time certified school librarians in Missouri: Boosting student achievement across disciplines. School Libraries Worldwide, 28(2), 1-18.

https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/slw/index.php/slw/article/download/8695/5189

Recruitment and Retention of Black Female School Librarians Study

A recent study used interviews and research methodology to analyze recruitment and retention rates of Black women in the school librarian profession. The researcher identified three themes from this study: pathways to school librarianship, significance of representation, and workplace challenges for Black women who are school librarians. The research suggests potential actionable steps in recruitment and retention for Black female school librarians, and highlights the need for additional research with more participants in future studies.

Richardson, C. (2025). Perspectives of Black female school librarians on recruitment and retention. School Library Research. 

https://www.ala.org/sites/default/files/2025-09/johnson.pdf

Student Achievement and Teacher Librarians Study

“This study found that students were more likely to meet or exceed English Language Arts and Literacy (ELA) standards when their schools had credentialed teacher librarians (TLs), TLs serving a single school, and school library staff who engaged in certain specific activities, including managing their library collections and supporting literacy teaching. With rare exceptions, relationships between library staffing levels and staff activities and ELA performance levels persisted regardless of the gender, race/ethnicity, or socioeconomic status of students.” (Lance & Gerrity). 

Lance, K., & Gerrity, C. (2025). Contributions of California teacher librarians to student achievement. Learning Hub, 1(2). https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/learning-hub/vol1/iss2/3/ 

College Readiness Study

The First Years Meet the Frames project investigates the influence of high school librarians on first-year college students' readiness for academic research, particularly amidst a national decline in school librarian positions. The project seeks to understand how information literacy skills acquired during K-12 education affect college students' academic performance, revealing significant gaps in research preparedness and addressing equity issues in access to information resources. Future studies will continue to explore the impact of librarianship on student learning outcomes and the necessity of collaboration between high school and academic librarians.

Valenza, J., & Dempsey, J. (2022). What's in a frame? Perspectives of high school librarians and first-year college students. College & Research Libraries News. https://doi.org/10.5860/CRLN.83.9.393

School librarian self-censorship study

A recent study examined self-censorship of controversial topics in collection development. Articles can be accessed for free at www.ala.org/aasl/slr.

In the recently published “To Add or Not to Add: An Examination of Self‐Censoring Behaviors among School Librarians,” Jennifer Moore and Alissa Tudor present a study examining collection development and self-censorship amongst school librarians. The researchers collected data via surveys, and examined which controversial or frequently challenged topics school librarians chose not to collect. This research found that amongst controversial topics, there were high amounts of self-censorship around books that dealt with sexual content, abortion, and self-harm. Respondents who had never experienced book challenges in their school libraries expressed reluctance to include books that involved sexual content and LGBTQ themes or content

Moore, J., & Tudor, A. (2024). To Add or not to add: An examination of self‐censoring behaviors among school librarians. School Library Research. 

www.ala.org/aasl/slr

Teacher Librarian Collaboration during COVID-19 Study

 This phenomenological study explored and analyze six school librarians’ experience of changes in their professional roles during the pandemic. Three major themes emerged: the local context of the school librarians’ roles during the pandemic, the pandemic as an antagonist to the school librarians’ former and present roles, and the experience of tensions within the evolution of the school librarians’ roles.

The results suggested that the pandemic’s contributions to students’ learning loss present an ongoing, critical need for school librarians’ core value of positively impacting student achievement. Implications for school librarians are that they are strongly positioned to thrive during further evolutions of their roles as instructional settings continue to diversify.

Colvin, K., Croft, M. (2024). Indicators of Successful School Librarian and Teacher Collaboration: A Phenomenology. School Library Research, 27.

https://www.ala.org/sites/default/files/2024-10/colvin-et-al.pdf

School Librarians' Roles During COVID study

A recent study examied the ways that school librarians and librarianship shifted during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly during periods of virtual learning. The research team conducted interviews that illuminated the stories of school librarians during the COVID-19 pandemic and examined the concept of the pandemic as an antagonist to the role of librarians. The researchers noted that the “results of this study support the idea that the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 can serve as a demarcation line in K–12 research,” and recommend that “future researchers in K–12 school librarianship will need to differentiate which side of the demarcation line is referenced regarding studies on professional roles, student achievement data, and/or experience. As school librarians must consider how to evolve their role to establish relevancy within emerging settings such as the K– 12 remote-synchronous learning environment, this capacity for an embedded role is present and offers a natural evolution.”

Wright, K., Koz, O., & Moore, J. (2024). The evolving roles of school librarians during the COVID-19 pandemic: A phenomenological study. School Library Research, 27. https://www.ala.org/sites/default/files/2024-09/wright-et-al.pdf 

Book Banning Report

 A series of studies assessed parental perceptions of libraries and librarians. The results showed that the vast majority of parents trust librarians and do not think book banning is appropriate. School librarians were deemed as “essential” staff in a school, and parents felt their students were not only safe in school libraries but that the professionals were well-suited to selecting age- and content- appropriate material. School librarians (as well as their peers in public libraries) were ranked among the top five most trustworthy professionals. New national research further supports the fact that most Americans disagree with banning and restricting access to books in school libraries.

Knight Foundation. (2024). American's views on book restrictions in U.S. public schools 2024. Knight Foundation.

https://knightfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Americans-Views-on-Book-Restrictions-in-U.S.-Public-Schools-2024.pdf

International School Library Studies

 Five recent studies on school libraries, four from Australia and one global one, examine copyright, collection development, information literacy, reading, staffing and services. 

1. Discovering a good read: Exploring book discovery and reading for pleasure among Australian teens 
   
   
2. ‘Being a Global Citizen’: Australian Secondary Teacher Librarians in the Changing Information Landscape 
   
   
3. Curate, advocate, collaborate: Updating a school library collection to promote sustainability and counter eco-anxiety 
   
   
4. Academic integrity and copyright literacy policy and instruction in K-12 schools: A global study from the perspective of school library professionals 
   
   
5. The 2023 Softlink Australian School Library Survey Report

Broadley, A., & Manuell, R. (2024, May 24). Researching education: 5 further readings on school libraries. Teacher Magazine.

https://www.teachermagazine.com/au_en/articles/researching-education-5-further-readings-on-school-libraries 

Parents' Perception of School Libraries reports

A recent study investigated parents' perceptions of school librarians. A vast majority of the parents surveyed asserted that every school should have a school librarian. The survey results show that a significant percentage of parents (80%) trust school librarians to select appropriate books and materials for school libraries. However,  only 41% of the parents have met their child’s school librarian. There were also mixed feelings about providing materials on race/racism and LGBT+, depending on the students' age. Parents also want more say about library collections.

A series of Parents’ Perception of School Libraries and Librarians Survey (Dec 2023) findings are available at https://www.everylibraryinstitute.org/parent_perception_school_libraries_2023. Please see “Parents’ Perceptions of Public Libraries” (Sept 2023) and “Parents’ Perceptions of Librarians” (Nov 2023) for additional insights on this dynamic topic, surveyed by Book Riot and EveryLibrary Institute. 

Libraries and College Readiness Study

 A study found that first-year college students who had prior high school research experience, especially those from schools with certified librarians, felt more confident in their academic research skills and performed better in using research tools and strategies, such as information and digital literacy, and the difference between a primary and secondary source of information. 

Valenza, J. et al. (2023). First years' information backpacks: What's already packed or not packed? Journal of Academic Librarianship, 48(4).

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0099133322000829?via%3Dihub 

School Library Book Bans

 Twenty-four percent of school librarians have experienced harassment during the last year related to books or displays in their library. That’s according to a recent national survey, which found the rate even higher among high school librarians, 30 percent of whom report being harassed. Those perpetrating the intimidation are most frequently parents, followed by organized groups, reports the Controversial Book survey fielded in May 2023 and garnering 729 respondents.

Ishizuka, K. (2023, Sept. 30). Nearly a quarter of school librarians have experienced harassment over books. School Library Journal.

https://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/story/Nearly-a-Quarter-of-School-Librarians-Have-Experienced-Harassment-Over-Books-SLJ-Censorship-Survey

Book Challenges Survey

 According to a national survey, the surge in book challenges nationwide is having a chilling effect on school librarians, who are more likely to avoid buying books or to remove titles from collections because of their content than they were last year. "And while the percentage of U.S. librarians who have experienced a book challenge dropped from 43 percent to 38 percent, 30 percent of those challenges led to a book’s removal in 2023, up from 19 percent last year. Urban school librarians were the only segment to report a rise in book challenges, from 31 percent in 2022 to 39 percent this year.

Perhaps in response to the spike in challenges, 55 percent of respondents said their school’s book challenge procedure was new or revised, an increase from 49 percent in 2022.

The number of librarians who voluntarily removed books from their library also rose, from 42 percent in 2022 to 47 percent in 2023.

All 729 respondents are responsible for selecting books for their library. Their most cited reason for choosing not to buy a book was sexual content, especially at the high school level—increasing from 60 percent in 2022 to 75 percent in 2023. As for other concerns, 43 percent said profanity or vulgar language caused them to reject a book, while 37 percent named LGBTQIA+ content." School Library Journal

Controversial books survey. (2023). School Library Journal.

https://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/story/Book-Challenges-Are-Having-a-Chilling-Effect-on-School-Librarians-Nationwide-SLJ-Survey

School libraries and COVID-19 study

 Arkansas school librarians were surveyed about their efforts during and after COVID-19. Questions addressed planning and implementation, skills that supported online learning, and concerns. The survey revealed that librarians wanted to help their schools pivot to online learning, and found several ways to insert themselves into the school's structure (e.g., resources and professional development) through their specialized knowledge and skills relative to curriculum, technology, online resources, and online education.

Wake, D., Hu, H., & Shaw, E. (2023). School librarians creating space for connection and collaboration. Knowledge Quest, 51(5), 50-55.

Library services for students with dyslexia study

 This study investigated school library services for students with dyslexia, and found that participant librarians lacked knowledge about library services for these students. Awareness, IT, administrative support, funding and parental attitudes influence such library services. Providing appropriate accommodations, including IT, would help school librarians impact these students' reading and information literacy.

Li, Qingyu, et al. “School Library Reading Support for Students with Dyslexia: a Qualitative Study in the Digital Age.” Library Hi Tech, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1108/LHT-03-2023-0086 

School Librarians Slide Project

Summary: Based on research from the School Librarian Investigation—Decline or Evolution? (SLIDE) project, this report utilized NCES school librarian employment data for the 2020-2021 school year. Data characteristics from 12,537 school districts were examined including poverty, locale, and district enrollment, as well as student demographics including race and ethnicity. Data supported previous findings that access to school librarians is strongly related to race and ethnicity and further exacerbated for students living in extreme poverty, in more-isolated locales, and in the smallest districts—locales where students are less likely to have access to the educational resources available in large urban areas. 

In school year 2021-22, 54% of U.S. students in all districts were without any librarians during the COVID-19 pandemic and almost 3 million students in majority nonwhite districts were without any librarians. The gap between students in districts with a “library privilege” and those without librarians continues to widen. Read the full report for more. 

 Lance, K. C., Kachel, D. E., & Gerrity, C. (2023, January 6). The school librarian equity gap:  Inequities associated with race and ethnicity compounded by poverty, locale, and enrollment. Peabody Journal of Education.  https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0161956X.2023.2160112

School-Academic Librarian Collaboration

Abstract: Collaborations between school and academic librarians centered around the professional development of K-12 media specialists may represent a scalable and sustainable method by which school and academic librarians can support information literacy. This article outlines a pilot project developed between The Ohio State University Libraries (University Libraries), located in Columbus, Ohio, and the Columbus City Schools (CCS) that was intended to forge connections between school and academic librarians through professional development.

Hammons, J., & VAasudev, K. (2023). Connecting school and academic librarians through professional development: A pilot project. College & Research Libraries News, 84(1), 32. <https://crln.acrl.org/index.php/crlnews/article/view/25740/33658>.

Teacher Librarian Expenses during COVID study

A recent study collected exploratory data on perspectives, details, and artifacts related to how school librarians used personal funds to purchase school-related items during the pandemic. The researcher found that "school librarians used their own money to meet student needs, to get what was needed quickly and conveniently, to obtain items for which they were not allowed to spend school money, and to avoid dealing with time-consuming purchasing and reimbursement processes—if reimbursement was even an option. School librarians also spent their own money because library budgets were eliminated, reduced, or frozen during the pandemic. Findings also showed for those school librarians spending their own money, that the most money was by those who worked in rural areas with a higher proportion of students who qualify for free/reduced lunch."

Kammer, J., Atkins, C. & Burress, R. (2022). "The Personal Cost of Small Budgets & Underfunded Libraries: Out-of-Pocket Spending by School Librarians during COVID-19." School Library Research, 25.  https://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/pubs/slr/kammer-atkins-burress.pdf