Support School Libraries -Act Now!

A call for action

From YALSA Exec Director Beth Yoke (school librarians need support from everyone to get school library language in the ESEA reauthorization; please cross-post). ESEA will replace No Child Left Behind so this is a crucial opportunity for strong libraries of all types. Please e-mail, Tweet and/or call your Congressional delegation--Take Action Now!

What has been done

 Last week we called on library staff and advocates to contact Congress to support school libraries, and many of you responded!  So far, there have been 2,971 emails, 446 Tweets and 39 phone calls.  That’s great, but with over 98,000 school libraries in the U.S. we can do better!  ALA staff are meeting with key Congressional all this week to ask for support for school libraries.  Right now we need one more push from library staff and advocates so that when ALA meets with Congressional staff your grassroots support will be the evidence Congress needs to take action for school libraries and ensure they’re adequately funded in the ESEA reauthorization. 

What needs to be done NOW!

Here’s how you can ensure that happens:

1.       Go here: http://cqrcengage.com/ala/home
2.       In the blue bar in the upper half of the page, choose how you want to contact your members of Congress: letter, Tweet, or phone call
3.       Click on the option(s) you want, provide the required contact info, & submit.  The letter and Tweet are pre-written for you, so it’s super easy! (but you do have the option to customize them if you want)
4.       Forward this message to library advocates in your community & encourage them to do take action, too
5.       Pat yourself on the back for a job well done!

Sara Kelly Johns
‎President of New York Library Association;
ALA Exective Board

Help Public Libraries and Literacy- Call Now!

Ask Your U.S. Senators to Sign Library Funding Letters

Appropriations season is heating up in Washington DC. It is imperative that you call your two U.S. Senators by Wednesday, April 24 and ask them to sign two separate "Dear Colleague" letters that will greatly help libraries. Talking points and instructions for the two letters are below.

Support Funding for LSTA in FY 2014

Ask your representative to support funding for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). Here's why:

•LSTA is the primary source of funding for libraries in the federal budget

•LSTA helps many public libraries provide services to users that include, but are not limited to: job searches, résumé building help, digital literacy workshops, access to e-government services, etc.

Your senator can sign a letter indicating their support for LSTA in the FY14 budget, here's how:

Republicans: If your senator is a Republican, ask them to contact Sen. Susan Collins’ (R-ME) to sign on to the LSTA letter.

Democrats: If your senator is a Democrat, ask them contact Sen. Jack Reed’s (D-RI) office to sign the LSTA letter.

Support Funding for the Innovative Approaches to Literacy Competitive Grant

Ask your representative to support Childhood Literacy in FY 2014. Here is why:

•Congress included $28.6 million in the FY12 budget for this competitive grant administered through the U.S. Department of Education to support school libraries and national nonprofit literacy organization working toward childhood literacy

•A minimum of half of this money will go as a competitive grant to low-income school libraries to help update their books and materials.

Ask your representative to sign a letter supporting Childhood Literacy in FY 2014, here's how:

Republicans: If your senator is a Republican, ask them to contact Sen. Chuck Grassley’s (R-IA) office to sign on to this letter

Democrats: If your senator is a Democrat, ask them to contact Sen. Jack Reed’s (D-RI) office to sign on to this letter

Please call today!
Go to http://capwiz.com/ala/callalert/index.tt?alertid=62592326&PROCESS=Call+Now
Enter your zip code into the "Call Now" box to find the number for your senator.

All calls have to be in by April 24.

Help Public and School libraries Now! Call your representative!

Support library funding: Call your U.S. Rep. today

Appropriations season is heating up in Washington DC. It is imperative that you call your U.S. Representative by Wednesday, April 10 and ask them to sign two separate "Dear Colleague" letters that will greatly help libraries. Talking points and instructions for the two letters are below.


Support Funding for LSTA in FY 2014

Ask your representative to support funding for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). Here's why:

•LSTA is the primary source of funding for libraries in the federal budget

•LSTA helps many public libraries provide services to users that include, but are not limited to: job searches, résumé building help, digital literacy workshops, access to e-government services, etc.

Your representative can sign a letter indicating their support for LSTA in the FY13 budget, here's how:

Democrats and Republicans: Ask your representative to contact Rep. Raul Grijalva's (D-AZ) office to sign the LSTA letter.

Go to http://capwiz.com/ala/callalert/index.tt?alertid=62560381&PROCESS=Call+Now
 if you do not know who your representative is.

Support Funding for the Innovative Approaches to Literacy Competitive Grant

Ask your representative to support Childhood Literacy in FY 2014. Here is why:

•Congress included $28.6 million in the FY12 budget for this competitive grant administered through the U.S. Department of Education to support school libraries and national nonprofit literacy organization working toward childhood literacy

•A minimum of half of this money will go as a competitive grant to low-income school libraries to help update their books and materials.

Ask your representative to sign a letter supporting Childhood Literacy in FY 2014, here's how:

Republicans: If your representative is a Republican, ask them to contact Rep. Don Young's (R-AK) office to sign on to this letter

Democrats: If your representative is a Democrat, ask them to contact Rep. Jim McGovern's (D-MA) office to sign on to this letter

Go to http://capwiz.com/ala/callalert/index.tt?alertid=62560381&PROCESS=Call+Now \
if you do not know who your representative is.

Calls have to be made by April 10, 2013

Support School Libraries-Sign the Petition Now!

From Carl A. Harvey II , AASL ( American Association of School Librarians) President

Dear Friends -

I am writing to you today to share that this morning I have posted a new White House petition about requesting funding and recognition for school libraries in the re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.  It is easy to sign the petition.   You will need to create an account (if you don’t already have one) to be able to sign the petition.
The URL for the petition is:
http://wh.gov/Wgd
We have until Feb. 4th to 25,000 signatures in order to get a reply from the White House.  I appreciate your support of school libraries.
Thank you,
Carl



For more information go to :
http://carl-harvey.com/libraryties/2012/01/05/white-house-petition-in-support-of-school-libraries-its-posted/

and read this:
http://educationservicesnews.blogspot.com/2011/12/start-holidays-right-support-school.html

Start the holidays right-Support School Libraries!

Take Action

School Libraries and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) why YOU should care and what YOU can do!

The Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations (ALTAFF) and the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), along with the American Library Association’s Office for Library Advocacy and the Washington Office, is asking that every single person in the country who cares about libraries contact their U.S. Senators in Washington at 202-224-3121 or at their local offices in your state about the importance of including school libraries in the reauthorization of ESEA. Please let us know when you’ve made your call by emailing altaff@ala.org.
Background:  ESEA reauthorization, currently known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), will determine federal education policy for the coming decade.  The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee marked-up (voted out of committee) ESEA on October 20, 2011 without including school libraries!  While no date has yet been set for a Senate vote, the American Library Association believes that it may come up after January 23, 2012.
What It Means for School Libraries:  Ensuring that school libraries are included in ESEA reauthorization means that federal funding for schools would also include school libraries.  But, more importantly, having school libraries included in ESEA is a strong statement that school library programs are considered an important part of the learning environment.  This will make it harder for local decision makers to de-professionalize or cut school library services.
Why YOU Should Care:  As library supporters, it probably goes without saying that you value libraries at all levels.  But if you are not directly associated with a school library, it may well be that you really haven’t thought much about them and their contribution to every school, community, and even your own library!  Because of the pending vote on ESEA – which does not now include school libraries – it’s time for you to focus your library love on school libraries.
Studies have shown categorically that children who go to school without libraries and, importantly, school librarians, fare worse in academic achievement than those who have them.  Professionally staffed school libraries are a very small investment to raise academic achievement.  And we all know that kids who read succeed!
We all pay the price of the academic failure of our youngsters.  Crime rates, unemployment, social service costs, prison stays all go up when kids don’t succeed in school.  We pay dearly for that.  Not only are taxes higher as a result, but human potential is lost.
When school libraries are shut down or certified librarians are eliminated, public libraries and academic libraries also pay a price.  Children without access to instruction by school librarians will miss out on learning how to find, identify and use information appropriately.  Public libraries, community college libraries, and even four year colleges and universities see an immediate influx of new users (school children) when area school libraries are closed down. 
This means more materials and staffing are needed for public libraries (whose budgets are also being challenged across the country) and they often lack the curriculum-related materials the students need.  In addition, one of the greatest effects on the public library from underfunded school libraries is the demand from school librarians themselves and classroom teachers for materials to use in the classroom.    
When one type of library is threatened, all libraries are threatened.
What You Can Do:  It is imperative that every library supporter in the country call or email both of their Senators now!  Let them know that ESEA must include a specific authorization for an effective school library program.  Senators can do this by telling both Senator Tom Harkin and Senator Mike Enzi that they support including an effective school library program in ESEA.
In addition, we ask that you spread the word.  Ask your spouse, your friends, and your acquaintances to act now.  Facebook, twitter, and email about this.  Let’s start a school library movement!  Your voice counts – please use it on behalf of professionally staffed school libraries.
ESEA Talking Points

• Since 1965, more than 60 education and library studies have produced clear evidence that school library media programs staffed by qualified school librarians have a positive impact on student academic achievement.
• Spending for school library programs is the single most important variable related to better student achievement.
• At the elementary level, four out of five schools (over 80%) with full-time librarians had more students who earned proficient or above proficient test scores on the CAT5 tests for reading, language arts, and mathematics.  In schools with no librarian at all, only about half had more high-achievement students.
• At the secondary level, nine out of ten schools (over 90%) with full-time librarians had more students who earned proficient or above proficient test scores on the CAT5 tests for reading, language arts, and mathematics.  In schools with no librarian at all, only about half had more high-achievement students.
• Based on analysis from its first year of funding, 95% of local education agencies that received funding from the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program have reported increases in their reading scores.  In its second year of funding, grantees reported access during non-school hours increased in just one year from 30% in 2005 to 72% in 2006.
• This is the information age.  Our leaders are starting to understand it’s not enough for kids to know how to read – they must also be information literate.
• Family literacy activities are supported by 42% of public school libraries strengthening the entire network of support for student learning and achievement.
• Students visit school libraries almost 1.5 billion times during the school year – about one and a half times the number of visits to state and national parks.
• Funding for school libraries comprises a very small portion of a school library’s budget but studies show that the return on this investment in terms of student achievement is high. 

Call your U.S. senators today and ask them to include School Libraries in ESEA!

Tweet for School Libraries- Thursday-12/8/11 at 3pm

As Congress continues to work on appropriation bills for FY 2012, we want to make sure they keep school libraries in mind. The Senate Appropriations Committee voted out of committee a bill that included $30 million for literacy, at least half of which must go to school libraries. But the fight for this money is not over.

In order to keep support for school libraries going, we are scheduling another Twitter Bomb for Thursday, Dec. 8, at 3pm EST.

Please tweet the following message at both of your senators and your representative. 

INSTRUCTIONS

Below is an example of the tweet directed at Rep. Denny Rehberg of Montana:

@DennyRehberg Keep $30 mil for #literacy and school #libraries in this year's federal funding!

To find out if your Congressional representatives are on Twitter and what their handles are, visit this website: http://classic.tweetcongress.org/officials/states.

If you find that your representative is on twitter, click their image on the left and that link will take you to his/her acct.

 

Once on your representative’s page, click the silhouette icon,  and enter the message in the field below the ‘Follow’ button.

If your representatives aren’t on Twitter yet, please tweet the message out anyway, to keep the echo chamber going.

NJ School Librarians ALERT -Have Students VOTE for GSTBA NOW!

New jersey School Librarians Alert
It's time for your students to vote for their favorite books!

The Garden State Teen Book Award Committee would like to remind librarians to have your students get out the vote!
http://njla.pbworks.com/w/page/12189805/Garden-State-Teen-Book-Awards

Garden State Book Awards
Each year, New Jersey teens vote for their favorite books in three categories.The ballot lists twenty nominees for each category, based on teen appeal and quality of writing.

Follow these links to on-line ballots listing all 60 nominees:

Follow this link for a listing of fiction books for Grades 6 to 8. http://www.bccls.org/gstba/2011/fiction6to8.shtml

Follow this link for a listing of fiction books for Grades 9 to 12 http://www.bccls.org/gstba/2011/fiction9to12.shtml

Follow this link for a listing of non-fiction books for Grades 6 to 12
http://www.bccls.org/gstba/2011/nonfiction6to12.shtml

Voting for the 2011 Garden State Teen Book Award will run through January 8, 2011


The winners will be announced in February 2011.
The Garden State Teen Book Award, first presented in 1996, is a project of the Young Adult Section of the New Jersey Library Association.

Teens can vote online at: http://www.bccls.org/gstba/2011/ or use a paper ballot.

Send your ballots or vote totals to:

Laura Leonard
Hillsdale Public Library
509 Hillsdale Ave
Hillsdale, NJ 07642
Region H 1147
leonard@bccls.org

Ballots must be received by Saturday, January 8, 2011.

Paper ballots, past winners, and information about the award can be found at:
http://njla.pbworks.com/w/page/12189805/Garden-State-Teen-Book-Awards

Help School Libraries in NJ!

Take Action Now to Advance School Libraries!

A draft of new School Reform Program regulations includes the following requirement:

N.J.A.C. 6A:XX-1.1 Standards-based instruction

(g) All school districts shall provide library-media services in each school building, including a certified school library media specialist and access to computers, district-approved instructional software, appropriate books including novels, anthologies and other reference materials, and supplemental materials that motivate students to read in and out of school and to conduct research.

NJASL needs your help to ensure that this requirement for school libraries is retained in the School Funding Reform Regulations.

Write to Commissioner Lucille E. Davy in support of this proposed requirement
http://njasladvocacy.pbwiki.com/f/SLMS%20Commissioner%20Letter%20Template.doc

Urge your colleagues to send letters to Commissioner Davy in support of retaining this requirement
http://njasladvocacy.pbwiki.com/f/Teacher%20Commissioner%20Letter%20Template.doc

Help all members of your school community (students, parents, staff, administrators) to write in support of this requirement


Letters should be sent to:
Lucille E. Davy, Commissioner
Department of Education
100 River View Plaza
P.O. Box 500
Trenton, NJ 08625

Support our children! Support school libraries!

The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) will be considering reauthorization of NCLB in the next month. In order for the SKILLs Act to be included in NCLB – that is, to place a state-certified school library media specialist in every school – each member of the Senate must co-sponsor the SKILLS Act.

What can you do?
Send Your Senators a "Save School Libraries" Valentine!

Click here

1. Click on the Take Action box
2. Fill in your zip code
3. Click Go
4. Fill in the form

Copy and paste the Talking Points

and send emails to your senators.