There are fewer than eight school-based librarians in Philadelphia. Even high school students who do graduate are largely receiving no library instruction. In lieu of rebuilding a school library curriculum, the Central Library has taken on the task of building out a robust school instruction program for middle and high school students.

The Central Library consists of a dozen or so subject departments each of which are staffed with a reference desk for accessing the expertise of a subject librarian. This intellectual architecture makes it possible to absorb class visits of up to 100 students at once. Even for more modestly sized class visits, the department structure aids in the development of interdisciplinary research skills as we assign students pathways to explore their questions throughout the building.

In the past school year we reached 2,216 students from over 50 educational institutions. Our curriculum and pathways become stronger with each visit. We are preparing to host partner institutions for a best practices mini-conference this fall.