Reverse the cut! Save Downers Grove School Libraries
The Issue
At a time when Downers Grove District 58 is making a historic structural shift, our students need more support, not less. Forcing our certified library media specialists to spend 50% of their day as classroom teachers will effectively gut our middle school library programs, strip our children of vital educational resources, and leave libraries under staffed for the majority of the day. District 58 just spent millions of tax payer dollars on two brand new middle school libraries. Facilities are nice, but staffing those spaces with certified librarians is more important!
The Facts: A Recipe for Crisis
Our community is facing a massive transition: 6th grade is moving into the middle schools.
Skyrocketing Enrollment: at Herrick Middle School alone, enrollment is projected to skyrocket from 620 students to 950 students. O'Neill Middle School will be going from 400 students to 600 students. That's a 50% increase in enrollment from pervious years.
Unmanageable Ratios: Expecting a half-time librarian to serve 950 students creates an impossible student-to-librarian ratio of 1,900:1 during their active library hours.
Compounded Vulnerability: Adding 11-year-olds (6th graders) to a middle school environment requires rigorous media literacy training, safe spaces for emotional transitions, and robust reading support. Reducing library access directly undermines this transition.
Why Certified Librarians Matter
School libraries are not just rooms filled with books; they are the technological and academic hubs of our schools. Certified library media specialists teach crucial skills in an era of AI and digital misinformation, librarians teach students how to research responsibly, evaluate sources, and navigate the internet safely.
Support All Curriculums: Librarians collaborate with every single classroom teacher to provide research databases, tailored reading materials, and resource support that elevates test scores and literacy across the board.
Provide a Safe Harbor: For many students, especially incoming 6th graders navigating a larger school for the first time, the library is a critical sanctuary for quiet study, inclusion, and emotional safety.
Our Demand
We call upon the Superintendent and the Board of Education to prioritize student equity and academic success by fully reinstating both middle school librarians as 100% full-time library information specialists assigned to the library for the full day.
We urge the administration to find alternative budgetary or staffing solutions that do not involve compromising the foundational literacy and research skills of our children.
Sign this petition to tell the Board: Our students deserve full-time librarians assigned to the library the entire day.
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The Issue
At a time when Downers Grove District 58 is making a historic structural shift, our students need more support, not less. Forcing our certified library media specialists to spend 50% of their day as classroom teachers will effectively gut our middle school library programs, strip our children of vital educational resources, and leave libraries under staffed for the majority of the day. District 58 just spent millions of tax payer dollars on two brand new middle school libraries. Facilities are nice, but staffing those spaces with certified librarians is more important!
The Facts: A Recipe for Crisis
Our community is facing a massive transition: 6th grade is moving into the middle schools.
Skyrocketing Enrollment: at Herrick Middle School alone, enrollment is projected to skyrocket from 620 students to 950 students. O'Neill Middle School will be going from 400 students to 600 students. That's a 50% increase in enrollment from pervious years.
Unmanageable Ratios: Expecting a half-time librarian to serve 950 students creates an impossible student-to-librarian ratio of 1,900:1 during their active library hours.
Compounded Vulnerability: Adding 11-year-olds (6th graders) to a middle school environment requires rigorous media literacy training, safe spaces for emotional transitions, and robust reading support. Reducing library access directly undermines this transition.
Why Certified Librarians Matter
School libraries are not just rooms filled with books; they are the technological and academic hubs of our schools. Certified library media specialists teach crucial skills in an era of AI and digital misinformation, librarians teach students how to research responsibly, evaluate sources, and navigate the internet safely.
Support All Curriculums: Librarians collaborate with every single classroom teacher to provide research databases, tailored reading materials, and resource support that elevates test scores and literacy across the board.
Provide a Safe Harbor: For many students, especially incoming 6th graders navigating a larger school for the first time, the library is a critical sanctuary for quiet study, inclusion, and emotional safety.
Our Demand
We call upon the Superintendent and the Board of Education to prioritize student equity and academic success by fully reinstating both middle school librarians as 100% full-time library information specialists assigned to the library for the full day.
We urge the administration to find alternative budgetary or staffing solutions that do not involve compromising the foundational literacy and research skills of our children.
Sign this petition to tell the Board: Our students deserve full-time librarians assigned to the library the entire day.
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Petition created on August 5, 2026