A PARENT'S BEST FRIEND IS BACK IN TOWN LIBRARIES CAN HELP BRING FAMILIES TOGETHER FOR ALL THE BEST REASONS.

Byline: Davy McClay Local View

AS I was leaving work one day recently, one of my administrators was walking in. As we greeted each other I realized that she had been gone all day. I recited the worn-out joke, ``Oh, were you gone? I didn't even notice!'' She accepted my feeble humor graciously and is still speaking to me. (I am fortunate to work for some very patient and long-suffering administrators!)

That same scenario is repeated pretty much everywhere, all the time. In fact, I am certain that you, the reader, have been a participant in such an occurrence at least a time or two.

I have news for you. One of your best friends, the Van Nuys Library, has just reappeared after a six-month hiatus. Did you miss your friend during that time? I hope your answer is an affirmative ``yes!'' For many of us it was a difficult and sad time, with added worries fueled by all the talks of drastic budget cuts.

I realize there are many individuals who might reply, ``Davy, what are you talking about? Since when is the Van Nuys Library one of my best friends?'' This might result from not really thinking about what ``education'' is all about.

Naturally, we teachers are more into that mind-set. Education is all about building literacy and learning to be lifelong learners, which includes being avid readers. Every library is an integral part of that process, but it could be argued that a library as centrally located as the Van Nuys Library might be especially critical.

Why is the library so important?

Because, let's face it, the most important learning a child ever receives is from mom and dad. And typically they are the ones who are taking the child to the library. Yes, we teachers do much to shape a child's educational fortunes, but we can only go so far. The rest of it is up to the family, and I repeat, that's where the library comes into play.

I learned this reality in dramatic fashion during the course of my doctoral research. I researched the social variables that account for continued educational ``success'' (as measured by test scores) in middle- and upper-income areas compared with lower socioeconomic areas such as Van Nuys. One powerful and recurring statistic that I uncovered was this: Parents of educationally ``successful'' children regularly go with their children to the library or bookstore.

That is a fact that needs to be screamed from every rooftop, folks. Yes, I also found that most middle- and upper-income families seldom if ever go to the library. For you, it is Barnes and Noble or Borders. Fine. But there are still times when you want to look up an old periodical or some other source, and then all of a sudden you expect the library to be there when you need it.

The bottom line is we all want it to be there when we want it, for whatever reason.

Now that we have our friend back again, I encourage all of us to reflect and learn from this experience and to make some resolutions.

To the overall community, please support our politicians and policy- makers in maintaining this resource for all of us. Yes, there is some foolishness going on it Sacramento that may ``terminate'' the libraries. Many of us lowly peons are scratching our heads asking, is it that hard to add two plus two? Let's demand more intelligence and creativity from our elected leaders.

To my colleagues in education, let's do all we can to help our parents avail themselves of this wonderful and powerful friend. In my study, about 75 percent of urban parents did not even know where the library is located!

Parents need our help and support. I know of some elementary teachers who take an evening every three weeks to meet with all the families of their students after the parents are home from work, and take them to the library together. What a joyful and rewarding tradition for those teachers. Obviously, we must each find our own way of addressing this issue. But addressing it is a must.

If we want to really help students build literacy that transcends test scores (which lately are almost artificial because that is just about all we are teaching urban children), let's go the extra mile to keep this critical resource viable and to help parents get on this track with their children.