Apr 21, 2016 3 min read

Editor’s Note: This story has been modified to correct errors in voting figures.

Trinity School Board eliminated the high school librarian position Thursday night by a 7-1 vote.

Starting with the 2016-17 school year, the library will remain open, but there will be no librarian manning it.

The librarian will be reassigned to another position in the school district, which she is certified.

Assistant Superintendent Donald Snoke said the district is redesigning the operation of the high school library, and a portion of the library will be converted to a “makerspace,” a community space for creating and exploring, with a 3-D printer and other technology.

“I don’t see a reduction in service whatsoever. I see an addition in service, and I see a stepping more into line with 2016 students and how they research versus students from my era,” said Snoke.

Students will be able to use Google Chromebooks and laptops provided by the school district on which they can access research databases.

Across the country, school librarians are being sent the way of the card catalog, as districts address budget constraints and the changing roles of libraries.

The number of public school librarians dropped from 54,444 in 2006 – a peak year – to 45,106 in 2013, according to Tom Snyder, a spokesman for the National Center for Education Statistics.

Snoke said the district is searching for somewhere to donate books that students haven’t checked out for several years, including old sets of encyclopedias, and memorial books donated over the years will be housed in a special section of the library.

“The materials will be available to students as they always were, we’ll re-design how we allow the kids in to do that,” said Snoke.

Voting in favor of the motion to eliminate the librarian position were directors Penny Caleffe, Thomas Durbin, Frances Eates, Kerrin McIlvaine, Sean Dobich, Gregory Rudman and Jennifer Morgan. Opposed was Frank Golsky. Director Edmund Trapuzzano was absent.

In other business, directors approved restructuring salaries for coaching and extracurricular activities positions by a 5-3 vote. Golsky, Gregory Rudman and Sean Dobich opposed. Board president Jennifer Morgan said the restructure – which includes salary increases and decreases, depending on the coaching or extracurricular sponsor position – is designed to make salaries more competitive with other school districts and to provide more equitable salaries for coaches of boys’ and girls’ sports, such as baseball and softball.

For the 2016-17 school year, coaches’ and extracurricular sponsors’ salaries will rise from $379,538 to $418,671, an increase of $39,133.

Coaches and sponsors who are employed at positions earmarked for a salary reduction will receive their current pay rate.

Golsky said he opposed the salary restructure at a time when other school district employees accepted wage freezes.