A Nova Scotia school board’s proposal to cut all of its 41 librarians to balance its books highlights a larger trend at some Canadian schools as libraries become victims of continued budget cuts, a development that some argue is having an impact on the quality of children’s education, the Associated Press reports. And with the amount of information students have at their disposal because of the Internet, librarians are needed now more than ever to help sort through the wealth of information, the executive director of a parent-led group in Ontario says.
“They are usually up on all the new technology, and not just that, they can also teach kids … about how to use that technology,” says Annie Kidder of People for Education. Kidder says librarians can be vital in helping students exercise “good judgment about what’s relevant, what’s credible information, what’s really part of the garbage that is out there.”