In each issue of Publishers Weekly, the problem of survival for the book industry is regularly viewed from virtually every angle but one: teacher librarians. As teacher librarians, we are professionals dedicated to the book industry's goals. We work tirelessly for you all day long (and many evenings, too). True, booksellers take your work and fold it into the hands of readers. But we are creating those readers, your audience—your future.

A teacher librarian will go to any length to get a student to read. And we're on your side no matter what kind of book you write or which author you represent. We don't believe in censorship and we are not required to make judgments on the literary or social merits of the texts. Many of the books I recommend aren't destined to become classics. In fact, if I'm being honest, a fair number appear to have the shelf life of a mayfly. But becoming a reader demands ascending a hierarchy—asking readers to start with deep texts would be like feeding a steak to a newborn.

The first thing a kid must do is find characters and situations they can relate to, books and authors that mirror their own lives. And, yeah, those characters can be sparkling vampires—as long as they are dealing with broken hearts and ostracism at school. And as the only person on campus whose job it is to find those texts, know the kids, and place that life-changing book in that kid's hands, we know that once a kid is hooked, he or she will climb the ladder, will become an adult reader of every kind of literature, and will become a lifelong book buyer.

Without teacher librarians, the value of reading enters the land of the Lotus-eaters, a place of hazy apathy about the ability of a student to sustain a relationship with a text, a place where it is considered enough for a student to read short passages and answer multiple-choice questions on standardized tests. Never mind that this means the end for you—what a diminished life for these kids!

Yes, teacher librarians are your true bestsellers. Yet we are in danger of extinction, and our loss will be yours. But you can help. You can recognize our endangered species status and work to bring our numbers back. All states have professional teacher librarian organizations—get in touch. When those dismal articles on school budget cuts appear in your local newspaper, write letters about the importance of teacher librarians. Point out the irony of communities that bemoan the lack of reading skills in our youth while voting to remove the one person on campus dedicated to making readers. What could be more important? —By Victoria Waddle

Victoria Waddle is a high school teacher librarian in Southern California.

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