As the school year rapidly approaches, most parents are looking forward to their children receiving the highest level of education possible.

Unfortunately, when it comes to the basics of literacy – the availability of school librarians and open school libraries – this doesn’t always happen.

Prince Charles Elementary School, as with many other schools in Surrey and the province, is facing a declining enrolment. Unfortunately, because the formula for school library funding is based on enrolment, the students that remain at the school are going to be facing a school year of having a library that will be open only three days per week.

This is absolutely unacceptable. School librarians and libraries play a crucial role in literacy, especially in inner-city schools such as Prince Charles and other North Surrey schools.

Despite the best efforts of parents, the playing field for children is not level. Children from lower-income families need every single resource that can be made available to them.

Closing the school library, even for one day per week, is not simply an inconvenience, it is detrimental to children who struggle in reading or whose only exposure to books and literacy is at the school library.

In the past school year, approximately 300 children checked out over 12,000 books. That means throughout the school year, each child took more than 40 books home.

This of course does not include the books that were enjoyed in the library without being brought home. And this statistic does not account for the extensive work that the school librarian does to combat illiteracy at its most critical point – working directly with children to open the world of books as well as fostering a love of reading and hopefully providing the opportunity for a brighter future for each child.

My hope is that the B.C. government and the Surrey Board of Education reconsiders their funding formula for school librarians and libraries.

Corinna Cooke