CONNECTICUT — School librarians interviewed by NBC Connecticut say staffing cuts threaten work that reaches beyond book circulation into research, technology and media literacy.
In Jeremy Chen’s report, Connecticut Association of School Librarians President Valerie DiLorenzo attributed many reductions to school-budget pressures. She said certified librarians help students evaluate whether information is credible and use technology effectively.
Sedgwick Middle School librarian Shannon McNeice described collaborating with teachers on research projects and podcasting, while helping students find suitable books. Sedgwick is in West Hartford; her examples are not evidence of a specific service reduction in Eastern Connecticut.
The interviews frame library staffing as an educational budget choice with implications for reading and source-evaluation skills. They do not establish that every district is cutting positions, and this report does not identify an unverified local layoff or predict a measured change in student performance.
NBC’s report is the source for these educators’ accounts. Eastern CT News has not independently audited statewide staffing data.