
ALT School librarians have a variety of educational backgrounds. 86% serve multiple roles within their schools. Librarians: 27% are certified teacher-librarians with a library endorsement Teachers: 13% are certified teachers in the library without a library endorsement Paraprofessionals: 60% are librarians with no teaching certificate and no library endorsement

ALT School librarians are educators, mentors, collaborators, and leaders. 65% attend district meetings and in-services 57% engage in professional development 41% serve on district-wide committees 32% present and participate at workshops outside the district 19% deliver professional development for teachers & staff

ALT South Dakota school librarians instruct & collaborate: 74% teach with SD School Library Standards; 57% innovatively organize their collections; 62% survey students & staff in regard to resources, reading & services; 74% utilize SD School Library Guidelines; 55% collaborate with local public library; 30% collaborate & teach with classroom teachers

ALT South Dakota school librarians communicate with: 37% Newsletters create content for digital/print newsletters to share with students, staff, and parents; 38% Websites maintain website or pages dedicated to the school library; 17% Social Media develop content and maintain social media accounts to connect with students and parents

ALT 2024 South Dakota School Libraries Facts & Stats The Program: School libraries provide programs and activities that link literacy and student interests. 83% local, state, and national reading promotion programs 82% thematic displays and bulletin boards 59% ELL, SPED, and multicultural resources 53% book fairs 68% meeting room functions 70% individual study spaces 98% small group instruction 91% classroom instruction 68% meeting room functions

ALT 2023-24 School Library Facts 91% Districts/Systems in South Dakota have a school library 98% Students attend a district/system with at least one school library

ALT 2023-24 School Library Facts 1 item per student added to library collections $19.11 spent on new materials per student 27 items checked out per student 85% of students checked out at least one book during the school year 5,400 classes visited school libraries every week 8,300 students visited school libraries independently every day

ALT Libraries offer books and more to foster literacy, information, imagination, and access to all kinds of materials. South Dakotans checked out 6.7 items per resident. 25% are digital or streaming materials, and 75% are physical materials. - 100% of SD residents have access to 58 research databases provided by the South Dakota State Library - 89% of libraries offer ebooks, downloadable audiobooks, and streaming video collections - 70% of libraries share physical collections with other libraries through interlibrary loan - 70% of libraries do not charge fines for overdue materials - 40% of circulation is children's materials

ALT Library programs bring communities together with educational, cultural and recreational activities. IN-PERSON PROGRAM ATTENDEES 66% children 6% young adult 12% adult 16% general interest PROGRAM FORMATS Libraries produced more than 200 recorded programs viewed by 11,600 people. Libraries hosted 290,000 people at more than 15,000 programs. Library staff helped 12,300 people through one-to-one programs like homework help, test proctoring, and homebound deliveries. Libraries offered more than 1,600 self-directed activities like take-home craft kits and story walks to 48,000 visitors.











