California recently surpassed France to become the world's fifth largest economy thanks, in part, to our well-educated and highly skilled workforce. The challenge for the future is to keep our economy strong and growing by ensuring that the state's next-generation workforce can contribute and perform. In today's economy, more than ever, this means information literacy - the ability to access, evaluate, organize and use information.

But across the country and here in California, schools are not producing the quantity of information-literate graduates needed to keep us competitive.

Direct federal funding for school libraries has plummeted since 1981, and states have consistently cut school library funding in order to address pressing needs. With the passage of Proposition 13 more than two decades ago, funds for libraries dried up as school districts struggled to cover basic costs with significantly fewer dollars.

By 1995, California school libraries had deteriorated to disastrous conditions with an average of 11 books per student - compared with the national recommendation of 16 to 25 books per student. With an average copyright date of 1972, many non-fiction books pre-dated the major events and scientific advances of the late 20th century - from the advent of the Internet to the fall of the Soviet Union.

In response to this critical need, the first state funding specifically for school libraries was instituted in 1998. The state earmarked $158 million per year and during the past four years has raised the average number of books to 12 per student and improved the average copyright date to 1982. However, with a budget deficit looming, future funding is uncertain and may be much smaller, possibly resulting in cutbacks of book purchases as well as reduced library staff.

The Impact on Education

Recent studies demonstrate that larger and up-to-date school libraries can have a dramatic influence on student achievement. Two studies by the Library Service Center of the Colorado State Library show a strong correlation between the caliber of the school library and student scores, even factoring for pupil/teacher ratio, community demographics and teacher qualifications. Examining 850 schools in very dissimilar states - Alaska, Pennsylvania and Colorado - the study showed better school libraries improved scores on standardized achievement tests by 10 to 15 percent over peers in library-impoverished schools, regardless of social and economic factors in a community.

School libraries are most critical in communities where children have the fewest books at home and the least access to public libraries. Unfortunately, these are the children who attend schools that most often have the fewest books in their libraries.

Dr. Stephen Krashen of the University of Southern California is one of the foremost academic researchers in this arena. His study found that, in Compton, Calif., where barely one in 10 students was performing at grade level, the average number of books at home was 2.7, while the classroom averaged 47 and the school library 16,000 - or three per student. By comparison, in Beverly Hills, where more than 90 percent of high school students go to college, classroom libraries averaged 392 books and the typical school library contained 60,000 books, while the average home had 199 books.

According to Dr. Krashen, low reading scores have nothing to do with economic status but have everything to do with the "print climate." "The first step to improving literacy is to improve school libraries," he said, concluding that kids need access to interesting reading materials and an atmosphere where they are encouraged to explore them.

Further, studies show that students in schools with librarians perform better. While the national standard is an average of one librarian per 903 students, again California falls short with only one librarian for every 6,248 students. Consider the fact that California prisoners average one librarian for every 815 inmates.

Meeting the Challenge

Updating California's school libraries should be a priority with all business leaders. This is an extremely cost-effective method of improving student achievement and turning out information-literate high school graduates. Library books are a shared resource and a large collection can be put together at a reasonable cost since books average about $20.

The Governor's Book Fund, initiated two years ago, is an excellent channel through which private industry can assist California school libraries. The fund, administered by the California State Library Foundation, awards grants of $5,000 annually to the neediest school libraries statewide. There are no administrative costs; every dollar goes directly to a school library.

Businesses need workers who know how to define and solve problems, can think critically, and can access and process information quickly and confidently. These are skills that students learn from having daily access to a school library that is large, current and professionally staffed.

City National Bank is helping to make this a reality through its statewide literacy program - "Reading Is The Way Up" - in partnership with the Governor's Book Fund. Through "Reading Is The Way Up," the bank will provide $100,000 to buy about 5,000 books for California school libraries. The bank also will hold local book drives in the markets it serves, encourage its colleagues and others to participate in classroom reading programs and advocate continued funding from both the public and private sector.

This effort reflects the bank's determination to improve student achievement and better prepare the state's workforce of tomorrow.