Why Collaborate?

This section primarily deals with the positive reasons why these two institutions need to cooperate in order to create lifelong learners that make positive well educated decisions in their community in the present and the future. This well educated individual will in turn sustain the positive factors that lead to a well rounded community. These positive factors include both the schools and the community’s library. To simplify, individuals may see future tax referendums as a positive toward improving both the schools and the libraries that they saw as so important when they were young. “There has been interaction and a sharing of ideas with other librarians that have made us all feel less isolated and more effective as professionals” (Mummey and Woeste 1995 p. 12). Isolation, especially in rural areas, does not breed success at any professional level. A professional baseball player cannot be successful without assistance from family, coaches, and other players on the team. The library is the same way. As noted before, it is imperative that libraries cooperate in order to be successful and important. But why is it imperative that public schools and public libraries cooperate? Dr. Daniel Callison is a proponent of cooperation between the two. His research suggests that public libraries have eliminated the young adult librarian because of lack of funds and common sense. The public libraries’ belief is that the school library will ‘take care’ of that part of community. “The local schools have libraries with collections to meet the needs of these students, and there is no need to duplicate efforts” (Callison, Fink, and Hager 1989 p. ) is a common response from public library directors. Callison also found that 57% of public librarians surveyed in Indiana could not name any librarians at any of the local schools. He also found that 83% of the public librarians could not name all of the local secondary school librarians. This section of the research paper is to attempt to persuade the reader why the libraries need to cooperate.
Susan Booker did a survey in Kentucky and she discovered that “all teachers surveyed used their school libraries, but only two out of the 76 participants considered their school libraries to be adequate” (Booker 1993 p. ). Although other research has validated that the better the school library the better the school, school boards rarely approve money to be spent on the school library. Usually school libraries depend on grants to update or improve their library. If a school is in this situation, it may need to turn to the public library for assistance. The issue with this, according to Booker, is that the public library is available. “Past presentations for teachers featuring new materials and means of access to and use of the public library have not been well-attended, but might be better received at this time” (p. #). She is referring public librarians mailing information to the schools to advertise their programs for students. This quote verifies that teachers will not show if they don’t have to. The administrators must get involved and include the public library in the professional development program that most schools have. In order to increase collaboration, the teachers must be persuaded that this will benefit them and their students.
The more resources, the more books, the more databases, the more likely the student will be successful. An objective every teacher wants to reach.
An important aspect of this co-operation is picked up in an article ‘Co-operation between school libraries and public libraries to promote enjoyment of reading’. This concludes that because co-operation is well organized, children in the large municipalities of Baerum (Norway) have easy access to books, the school curriculum stimulates reading activities, and its children are much better readers than the Norwegian average (Bundy 2002 p. ).
The public library would benefit with this cooperation as well. “The tax dollar funds both institutions and there are substantial economic benefits in working together to meet young people’s information needs” (Spelman 2004 p. ). This quote lends itself into two benefits. One is that if you meet young people’s needs, they will more likely meet the library’s needs in the future. According to Andy Robinson, a corporate trainer out of Tucson, Arizona, the number one reason why people give money to certain not for profit organizations is because they care about what the organization does and that the organization’s concerns are also the person’s concerns (1997 p. 79). I give to my American Legion every year because as a youth I had more fun and developed into a person of which I am proud because of their awesome leadership skills. I am concerned for the American Legion so it may help positively develop more youth in my neighborhood. This can parallel that of the library. If it concerns itself with the youth of today, the youth will give back with either tax payments or even donations. The other way the public library can benefit is that the more educated the people are in the town in which it is set, the more money is going to be in that town. Hence, the more likely the public will encourage effective, modern libraries.
“It’s sadly ironic that while both schools and public libraries serve the same customer, we rarely communicate” (Borek 2001 p. 30). This quote enforces why the two need to collaborate. In order to reach customer satisfaction, they should work together in order to be successful. Dian Borek continues by saying, “Administrators, teachers, teacher librarians, public librarians and public library children’s resource personnel would all benefit from better communication, cooperation and coordination of information services for young people; but by far the biggest winners would be the students” (2001 p. 31).
In conclusion, to prove the benefits of collaboration and its importance, one must look at the P.J. Jacobs Junior High School’s forced collaboration with the Portage County Public Library in Wisconsin. The junior high school, during the 2005 school year, was without a library because a new one was being built. The children were bussed everyday to the public library. The mandated collaboration had a lot of positive lessons taught to the students. One tidbit to add to this story was the extensive planning done by both parties before the school year began so the students could experience this obstacle positively. The experience sounded positive.
They [the students] were glad to learn how to do research and use the on-line catalog effectively. They were especially happy to find out the public library is not a stuffy place where they had to keep totally quiet. They liked being able to work in groups and talk quietly. Some were amazed to discover the library had things that teens wanted, like their favorite musical groups, computers for typing papers or playing games, study rooms, and teen oriented magazines. They became comfortable in the library, and because of their experience, the will probably be back (Vollrath 1996 p. 198).


Mummey, Emily & Woeste, Marianne. (1995). Cooperation Between School and Public
Libraries. Ohio Medium Spectrum, 47, 11-12.

Callison, D., Fink, J., & Hager, G. (1989). A Survey of Cooperation and Communication
Between Public and School Librarians in Indiana and Beyond. Indiana Libraries,
8, 78-86.


Vollrath, Elizabeth. (October, 1996). The Junior High School Comes to the Public Library. Journal of Voice of Youth Advocates, 197-198.