This librarian fought censorship in Texas. She just landed in Philly to revive school libraries

PHILADELPHIA — Jean Darnell packed up her life and moved 1,500 miles away to Philadelphia because she believes in the promise of school libraries.

It's a bold move for the nationally recognized educator from Texas, as Darnell has become the first Philadelphia School District library chief in years since the system let its school libraries wither starting in the 1990s.

At one point, the district had nearly 200 certified school librarians. In 2023-24, the district reported having the equivalent of just two full-time certified school librarians for its 216 schools, a ratio experts said was possibly the worst in the country.

Darnell has built a national reputation as The Awaken Librarian. She is a Pulitzer Center teacher fellow. She has served on the committee that chooses the Caldecott Medal, the revered children's book prize. Earlier this year, she appeared on the Dr. Phil show discussing AI and the future of education. She talks fast and thinks faster. And she is not about to fail, she said.

"Philadelphia is the country's OG capital. How do you not have a rich literacy program — that's the antithesis of what I learned in U.S. history class," Darnell said. "If our libraries fail, our literacy will tank, because there's no separation of the two. Libraries should be the heart of schools, and thinking that you can have a fully operational school with no heart, that doesn't work."

'A librarian saved me'

Libraries are crucial to Darnell's own story.

Darnell was confused and angry at age 8 when her parents divorced. Her worried family didn't know what to do with her, so they sent her to the library, where a librarian built Darnell, a voracious reader, a fort created out of mismatched tablecloths draped over tables and chairs. Once Darnell finished a school assignment, the librarian would slide a new book into the enclosure.

"It wasn't super fancy," Darnell said. "But for a kid who felt her world was crumbling, it was a place I could be free and imagine a better life."

She got her work finished, and gradually, she healed.

Later, after Darnell's divorce, she had no house or job. She found herself at the public library, where a librarian told her about a job fair, and helped her find resources to get an apartment.

More recently, an influential school librarian colleague guided Darnell, then an English teacher, into a program that gave teachers a path to become school librarians. She became a certified school librarian in 2013, and hasn't looked back.

"At every pivotal point in my life, a librarian saved me," said Darnell.

In Texas, Darnell fought censorship — her job was eliminated after a furor over Darnell teaching the popular young adult novel "The Hate U Give," which administrators said promoted anti-police behavior. (The book tells the story of a young Black woman from a struggling neighborhood who attends a mostly-white prep school. Starr, the protagonist, watches police shoot and kill her best friend.)

"I didn't grind all this time to be stifled or to be silenced in Texas," said Darnell. "I asked to leave Texas, and every door seemed to open for me. I was led here — this is where I was supposed to be."

'A breath of fresh air'

Earlier this year, the Philadelphia School District, in conjunction with grassroots group Philadelphia Alliance to Restore School Libraries, won a federal grant to begin restoring district libraries. Officials said they hope they can launch what becomes a national model.

Debra Kachel, a leader of the volunteer library group, is delighted with Darnell's appointment.

"PARSL is just thrilled with Jean. The district scouted out the best candidate, who brings a great deal of experience," said Kachel, a professor and school librarian. "She's a dynamo — just a breath of fresh air. I can't wait to see what she can accomplish in Philadelphia."

How's she going to do it?

From the ground up, as a team of one. Darnell, who's still living out of suitcases and in the process of moving her family to Philadelphia, has already rolled up her sleeves. She's beginning with an inventory.

"I need everybody who has library certification," said Darnell. "I sent out a letter and said, 'How many of you want to come back? How many of you went back to the classroom just so you can keep your paycheck?' There are lots of principals that want librarians — I have a sea of knowledge to tap into. I just need to make sure that they're going to be paid for the job they can do."

Philadelphia's very small school library scene is a now a patchwork. A handful of schools do have libraries and librarians who work at least part-time in that capacity, and a few dozen more schools have libraries that function at least part-time through efforts of volunteer groups.

In the majority of schools, though, the library is a concept, a room that may or may not have old books in it, and may or may not be used mainly for meeting space.

Darnell wants libraries cleaned out. She wants catalogs digitized. She wants policies and procedures revived and written. So far, her budget is scraps, but that's got to change, she said.

"I can't do it with no money. Don't tie my hands. We need federal funds — that's endowments, philanthropic efforts. I'm one person, but I'm going to advocate 24/7. I will work with everyone, the public libraries, the volunteer organizations. Come talk to me. I'm not going to give you anything less than 100%, and I need for this city to get behind this 100%. I need for the city of Philadelphia to put its faith in me."

Research shows that students who attend schools with full-time, certified school librarians are better readers than those who do not. In Philadelphia, the country's poorest big city, where two out of three kids do not meet state standards in reading, that matters.

"You can't sit here and say that you care about the libraries and do nothing," said Darnell. "Anything that you can pour into my library program, I'll take it. If you're into robotics, help me get a robot in the library, and then I can book talk and show kids some other cool resources that the library has. Don't tell me what a library can't do. I'll show you what a library can do."