Librarian Maura Large shows Emely Arroyo, 13, the book "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen in the library in Eliot Middle School in Pasadena. Large has been a librarian at the school for two years and could be laid off this year. The Pasadena Unified School District has proposed to eliminate seven teacher-librarian positions. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer, Pasadena Sun / April 9, 2012)
By Megan O'Neil
Pasadena Sun
Maura Large trains students at Eliot Middle School in Altadena in the language of dictionaries, encyclopedias and almanacs.
They might soon be able to find her title — credentialed teacher librarian — listed under “extinct species.”
Large's position, along with six others in Pasadena Unified, is slated to be eliminated at the end of the school year, a move that would save the district about $590,000, spokesman Adam Wolfson said.
It is a common scenario in districts up and down the state, and with numerous studies linking library services to academic performance, experts say students stand to lose.
