•Because of school overcrowding, many schools originally built for 300 students now house double or triple that amount.  The libraries were not modified to reflect the population increase and are usually incapable of housing the number of books needed for each student.  Some libraries are too small even to accommodate one entire class.

•In 2005, 50% of California fourth-graders scored below the "Basic" level of reading achievement set by the National Assessment Governing Board.  California's fourth-grade students rank 49th in the nation in reading skills.

•45% of students come to Los Angeles Unified School District schools not speaking English.

•In California, 85% of nonfiction books in school libraries were published 15 years ago. 

•Some schools actually have books on their shelves that read: “One day man will go to the moon.”

•The average number of books per student in elementary school libraries in the United States is 22.  In the Los Angeles Unified School District, it is nine.  Many schools fall well below this level.

•California ranks 51st in the nation in credentialed librarians per pupil.  The national average is one per 900 students; in California, it is one per 4,500 students. 

•California spends only three percent of what other states spend, on average, to support their school libraries.

•In 2004, California's Library Act decreased spending to 70 cents per student for library materials, a decrease of 97% since 2001 when spending per student was $28.  Since then, the State has incorporated library funding into general school improvement funds, removing restrictions that ensure equity in library spending across California.

•Los Angeles Unified School District elementary schools receive no funding for librarians.

•Some prisoners have much better access to books than school children in California.  The Preston Penal Institution (California Youth Authority) spends $18.40 per year on books per inmate (compared to $8.21 per student spent by California High Schools.)  The prison has one librarian per 815 prisoners.  California has one librarian for each 5,000 students.

•Evidence shows that children who do not read by third grade often fail to catch up and are more likely to drop out of school, take drugs, or go to prison.  So many nonreaders wind up in jail that Arizona officials have found they can use the rate of illiteracy to help calculate future prison needs.

(These statistics were provided by The Los Angeles Times, the California Department of Education, the Los Angeles Unified School District, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, and Every Person a Reader by Stephen D. Krashen.)