Debra E. Kachel

Antioch University
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Deb Kachel is an Affiliate Faculty living in Pennsylvania and teaching online graduate courses in AUS’s School Library Media Endorsement program. She was a high school librarian and supervisor of a Pennsylvania K-12 school district library program for over 30 years. She has taught face-to-face and online courses for over 15 years at Drexel University (PA), Mansfield University (PA), and McDaniel College (MD).

As a prolific grant writer and administrator, Kachel was the Project Director of SLIDE: School Library Investigation-Decline or Evolution? an IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Services) Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Grant, funded for $349,000 from Fall 2020 through August 2023. With researcher Keith Curry Lance, RSL Research Group (CO), they examined the national decline of school library positions, the changing roles of librarians and the expectations of school leaders, and the impact to equity of school library learning opportunities for marginalized student populations. See https://libslide.org/ for more.

Kachel wrote and administered several other federal IMLS scholarship grants for Mansfield University (PA), where she previously worked. She was also the Project Director for the Pennsylvania school library impact study of 2012, an IMLS National Leadership Research Project. Collaborating with AUS’s School of Education, Kachel served as lead grant writer on two Alternative Routes Block “ARTC” Grants to address teacher and school librarian shortages in Washington. Funded by Washington’s Professional Educator Standards Board at $560,000 for 2018-2020 and again for $145,000 for 2020-2022, these scholarship programs fund Kent School District para-educators with $8,000 scholarships to earn teacher and add-on endorsements in either ELL or school library media.

As a strong school library advocate, Kachel serves on the Advocacy Committee of the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association (PSLA), lobbying the Pennsylvania legislature to require school librarians in every school. She is also a Core Team leader of PARSL (Philadelphia Alliance to Restore School Librarians). PARSL is dedicated to restoring school librarians for the city’s 114,000+ students and 217 schools, where today, there are less than five part-time school librarians.

Affiliate Faculty

School of Education

[email protected]

  • MS in Information Studies, Drexel University
  • BS in Library Science and Supervisory Certificate, Millersville University (PA)

Teacher librarians need to not only be well prepared in all aspects of school librarianship, such as, collection management, instruction, collaboration, and library management, but must also be able to defend and build support for the continuation of school library programs and appropriate staffing among stakeholders and decision makers. It is my professional goal to help prepare teacher librarians, as they master necessary content knowledge about school library programs, to develop and apply advocacy skills to ensure that all K-12 students have access to a quality school library program and the expertise of a professionally-trained school librarian.

  • Gerrity, C.& Kachel, D.E. (2023, October 21). “Inequities in Access to School Librarians: Research from the School Librarian Investigation—Decline or Evolution? (SLIDE).” American Assn. of School Librarians Conference, Tampa Bay, FL.
  • Kachel. D.E. & Kaaland, C. (2023, October 21). “Voices of Decision-Makers about School Librarian Employment,” American Assn. of School Librarians Conference, Tampa Bay, FL.
  • Biagini, M. K. & Kachel, D. E. (2023, June 24). Access to school librarians: It’s an equity issue for students. Educators of School Librarians Section, American Library Assn. Conference, Chicago.
  • Kachel. D.E. & Kaaland, C. (2021, October 22). “School Librarianship: Evolving or Declining? Findings from an IMLS Grant Project. American Assn. of School Librarians Conference, Salt Lake City, UT.
  • Kachel. D.E. & Fuhrman, C. (2021, October 16). Providing Every Child with a Quality School Library Program. Pennsylvania PTA Conference, Scranton, PA.
  • Lance, K. C, & Kachel, D.E. (2021, April 16). “The Status of PA School Librarians: IMLS Grant Findings” Pennsylvania School Librarians Assn. Conference (virtual)
  • Kachel. D.E. & Fuhrman, C. (2021, April 16). “Advocacy Strategies for Communicating with Legislators.” Pennsylvania School Librarians Assn. Conference (virtual)
  • Lance, K. C, & Kachel, D.E. (2021, January 22). “The School Librarian Investigation: Decline or Evolution? IMLS Grant Project.” American Library Assn. Conference (virtual)

In 2014, Kachel was awarded the prestigious AASL (American Association of School Librarians) Distinguished Service Award for her state and national leadership in school library advocacy work.

Kachel is a frequent conference and workshop presenter and frequent author of professional journal articles. She has served on various committees of the American Library Assn., the American Assn. of School Librarians, and Pennsylvania School Librarians Assn.