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Parent and library staff urge restoration of certified library media specialist at Walsh Middle School
Summary
A district library media specialist and parent said the absence of a certified librarian at Walsh Middle School has left students without access to processed new books, research databases, and equitable literacy instruction; the role is included in the FY26 draft and public comment asked the committee to support it.
During the public comment period, Nicole Carpias (identified as a K-12 library-media specialist, Potter Road) told the committee that Walsh Middle School lost its certified library media specialist last year and that the absence produced a sharp decline in circulation, reduced student access to e-book services and research databases, and left new purchases unprocessed.
Carpias said circulation among district middle schools had been roughly equitable in 2021 when Walsh had an LMS; she told the committee that recent figures show a roughly 75% drop in checkouts at Walsh compared with comparable schools and that Walsh students now check out about one book per student on average, compared with about six books per student at Fuller and Cameron.
Carpias urged the School Committee to support the reintroduction of a certified library media specialist position at Walsh, noting that the FY26 budget as presented includes the reintroduced role. She framed the request as an equity issue and asked that students at Walsh have parity of access to books, databases and research instruction.
The committee did not take immediate action during the meeting; the library position remained in the FY26 draft under discussion in the budget process.
