LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY at the STATE LEVEL
ALA. “How to Conduct an In-Person Library Tour.” July 2021. The resource walks advocates through the best practices and steps needed for requesting and scheduling the library tour for your federal, state and local elected officials, things to consider when developing the content and points of interest, and how to publicize the tour to relevant audiences on social media. Belastock, Eileen. “School librarians can save democracy.” eSchool News, 7 Sept 2020. “When it comes to equity, critical thinking skills, and evaluating information, school librarians are critical for students.” Church, Audrey. "If You Invite a Legislator to the Library…." KQ, AASL, 17 Mar. 2017. Dark, Sarah. “Equitable Access to Education and Resources Must Carry Forward After the Pandemic. Tennesseean.com Opinion, 23 Dec 2020. Eisenberg, Mike and David Lankes. “Libraries Lead in the New Normal.” Podcast. Began Jan 20, 2021; ongoing every 2-4 weeks. Hincks, Kelly. “Are You Backable? 5 Ways to Advocate.” KQ, 9 June 2021. “What does it mean to be backable? You know the person who seems to convince others with ease. The person who can get up and share an idea and show others exactly what needs to be done. When becoming a school librarian, learning to advocate for my program effectively has been one of my biggest challenges. Sharing my work and tooting my own horn so to speak is something I had to get comfortable with. I wanted to do this without being boastful or rubbing people the wrong way. I have learned the importance of telling others what is happening in the library.” Hurst-Wahl, Jill. “How to Hug a Porcupine: Relationship Building with Lawmakers and Why It's Important.” Digitization 101, 8 July 2019. Reviewing a United for Libraries program at ALA Annual 2019. Kromer, Kathi. “August Is Peak Season for Advocacy: Tips for meeting with your members of Congress.” American Libraries, 3 Aug 2018. Moreillon, Judi. “Advocacy NOW: Save School Librarians.” School Librarian Leadership, 1 June 2021.”The inequitable distribution of professional school librarians in K-12 schools across the U.S. is a matter of social justice.” Sostaric, Katarina. "Update: Senate Committee Restores Nurse, Librarian Requirement For School Districts; Advances Bill." Iowa Public Radio, 27 Feb. 2019. Sullivan, Margaret. “The Importance of Advocacy at the State Level”. KQ, AASL, 7 Aug. 2018. Important Advocacy Tips
Kachel, Deb."Communication with Legislators" School Library Monthly, p.8-10, Feb. 2014. 5 easy steps to raise awareness with legislators. Not available digitally but worth finding in paper. Smart Goals for Visibility by Paige Jaeger (Library Door blog post, March 24, 2014) |
REAL EXAMPLE
Hardesty, Kathryn. "Speech to School Board Supporting School Libraries and Librarians." (ilovelibraries.org) Legislative Efforts Elsewhere
Washington DC Chang, Allister. “Allister Chang: School Librarians Are Essential for Addressing Learning Loss.” The DCLine, 28 June 2021. “To successfully accelerate learning and to address learning loss, DC should not excise any of its school librarians.” MICHIGAN Data by NON-Librarians Evans, Maxwell. "Lawmakers Push to Require Librarians in Public Schools." Lansing City Pulse [Lansing MI], 11 May 2019. Lester, Kathy. “Opinion: To Boost Literacy, Michigan Must Invest in School Librarians.” Bridge Michigan, 3 May 2021. “I believe that in order for Michigan to both address the needs of underserved children and to center on equity and excellence in education, we MUST reinvest in the school libraries in our state. …” Michigan School Finance Collaborative. Costing Out the Resources Needed to Meet Michigan’s Standards and Requirements. Michigan School Finance Collaborative, 2018. Fund MI Schools. One-page Fact Sheet is available. Read full 2018 website of the School Finance Research Collaborative at www.fundmischools.org/. OpED: Zemke, Adam, et al. "Opinion | A Librarian in Every Michigan school? Lawmakers Make the Case." Bridge (MI), The Center for Michigan, 5 June 2018. The Center for Michigan, which includes Bridge Magazine, was created to help Michigan citizens develop an agenda to move our state forward. The three authors are the state legislators who proposed this bill. NEVADA Valley, Jackie. "School Librarians Fear a 'Quiet Crisis' is Endangering Their Place in the Education World." Nevada Independent, 25 Mar. 2018. A school librarian stepped up to work with a gubenatorial candidate. NEW JERSEY Thomas, Beth. “Op-Ed: Well-Staffed School Libraries Can Help Students Recover from their Pandemic Year.” NJSpotlight.com, 16 July 2021. “School library media specialists reach every student, every year they’re in that building, fostering relationships that ignite and sustain a love of reading and learning.” PENNSYLVANIA Kachel, Debra. “Students Need Equity in School Library Programs | Opinion.” PennLive.com, 17 May 2021. “The gap between students who have access to libraries and the instruction of a certified school librarian and those who do not is widening.” TENNESSEE Dark, Sarah. “Equitable Access to Education and Resources Must Carry Forward After the Pandemic. Tennesseean.com Opinion, 23 Dec 2020. TEXAS Chang, Julie. "Texas Senate Passes Teacher Pay Raise, Adds Librarians." Austin American Statesman [Austin TX], 4 Mar. 2019. Chang, Julie. "School Librarians Left Out of $5K Pay Raise Proposal." Austin American Statesman [Austin TX], 22 Feb. 2019. UK Allen-Kinross, Pippa. "New Campaign Would Make School Libraries a Statutory Requirement." Schools Week, 27 Apr. 2018. This may be the UK but.. |