Advocacy

The work of certified school librarians is aligned with the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) Top 10 Strategic Plan.
Find the details in the document: Effective School Libraries Alignment with MDE Strategic Plan.

Share the above "Effective School Libraries Essential to Student Success" Handout with Administrators and Community Members: bit.ly/MIslib1admin

PLEASE use the link below to easily send an email to your legislator to support equitable access for all of Michigan's students to school libraries and the services provided by a certified library media specialist.

Email your Legislature

The Michigan School Library Competencies for Learners have been endorsed by the MAME Board. The Michigan School Library Competencies for Learners define a set of competencies for learners that allow school librarians to develop a comprehensive program of instruction and activities for their students.

The Michigan Association for Media in Education supports the three Michigan House bills that will ensure all Michigan students have access to school libraries and certified library media specialists.

The bills, House Bills 4663 (Camilleri - D), 4664 (Koleszar - D) and 4665 (O'Neal - D) would:

Make sure that students have access to a certified media specialist, who will be equipped to support literacy instruction, and integrate information, technology and research skills with the school’s curriculum; and
Ensure that all public schools in Michigan maintain a school library to provide students, teachers and community members with resources to support student learning; and
Maintain student access to school libraries with staff supervision, even when a certified media specialist is not available.

MAME along with 16 organization co-signers sent a letter to the House Education Committee on 9/7/2021 to request a hearing on the bills.

You can help by sending a personal email to request a hearing. You can easily do so here: www.saveschoollibrarians.org/three_bills_mi_2021

NOW IS THE TIME TO INVEST IN SCHOOL LIBRARIES!

Read articles published by Michigan administrator and school board associations:

Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB) February 2022 newsletter
Michigan Association of Superintendents and Administrators (MASA) October 2021 newsletter
Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals (MASSP) July 2021 newsletter

School Libraries Matter: The Changing Role of the School Librarian:

This video is just under 5 minutes, but don't look away until you get halfway through to hear MAME's favorite quote...

"If you had a reading teacher and a tech integrator and a school librarian, and you had to make a difficult choice; I'd still keep the school librarian because the school librarian is going to combine all of those."