Philly has 3 librarians for 218 district schools. People from across the U.S. held a ‘read-in’ to call out problem.
“It’s just unconscionable, inequitable,” Arizona librarian Judi Moreillon said of Philadelphia's poor school library record.
Clutching books and holding signs, 100 people from around the country converged on the Philadelphia School District headquarters’ Center City steps Friday to draw attention to the school system’s woeful record on school libraries.
In the 2024-25 school year, the district had just three full-time certified school librarians, perhaps the worst ratio in the nation. It used to have a certified librarian in each of its 200-plus schools.
“It’s just unconscionable, inequitable,” said Judi Moreillon, who came to Philadelphia for the 2025 American Library Association conference from Tucson, Ariz., another big-city district that has a disappearing cadre of school librarians. “It’s malpractice of education to deny students access to literacy in education.”
The read-in was organized by the Philadelphia Alliance to Restore School Libraries (PARSL), a group that has drawn attention to the issue for years.
When Abby Lalonde was getting ready to register her daughter Audrey for school at Adaire Elementary in Fishtown, she was upset that there was no certified school librarian there.
But the school does have a library run by volunteers and funded by the Friends of Adaire, and that feels like a privilege.
“All kids deserve books, and they deserve to have a place to go to find out about things they love,” said Lalonde, who volunteers at the Adaire school library. “Not every kid can go shopping at a bookstore or have access to a public library.”
Looking up from devouring Stuck, a graphic novel, 8-year-old Audrey Lalonde, said the library is one of her favorite parts of school.
“I like that you get to check out books,” Audrey said. “Reading is my favorite.”
A setback and a promise
In the last year, PARSL had scored a few significant wins: The district has hired its first director of library science in years, and with PARSL’s help, it won a federal grant to attempt a library renaissance that might serve as a model for other big-city systems.
But the Trump administration gutted the agency that provided the money and canceled the grant. Still, Debra Kachel, a PARSL leader, said she has received assurances from the district that it still plans to begin work to restore school libraries.
“I am absolutely thrilled that the district is standing behind this work,” said Kachel. “They have said that we are moving forward.”
Monique Braxton, a district spokesperson, said the school system is committed to literacy and “conducting an analysis of libraries, digital and instructional media centers in the district.”
State Sen. Vincent Hughes (D., Philadelphia) brought two books to the read-in: a biography of the guitar pioneer Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Slavery By Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II.
Hughes said he came to the read-in to show librarians support.
“Literacy is under attack,” Hughes said, “and we need to push back.”