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Advocacy


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 4392 (Camilleri – D), 4393 (Koleszar – D) and 4394 (Pagan – 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.
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.  
https://www.saveschoollibrarians.org/3billsmichigan 
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Advocacy Handouts   •    Who to Contact    •    Addressing Your Legislators     •    Mobile Phone Apps    •   Advocacy Resources Online   •      Government Relations & Legislative Updates    •    Video PSAs in Support of School Librarians 

Your Voice is Needed - Advocate for Our Profession!


As state budgets are now being finalized and policy decisions made that affect all students in Michigan, it is time to contact every Michigan senator and representative about Michigan school library programs!

Please join us in standing up for our profession and for all Michigan students. We need every member to reach out to their home legislators to raise awareness and stem the tide that is eroding our profession.
You may be the only voice in your legislative district. Don't think someone else will do it - you are MAME!


What To Do...
Send an email and, if possible, plan to follow up with a phone call or arrange a visit. We've found face-to-face meetings increase impact and are the most effective!

How To Do It...
For your convenience, use the following tools MAME has created:
  • Advocacy Toolkit and Sample Letter.
  • Advocacy Talking Points with instructions, background information, and contact information.
  • Advocacy Contact List for additional names of legislators on an education-related committee.
In addition, use these links to find your Senator and Representative.

Once you’ve reached out to a legislator, please
log your contact and any comments about your interaction in our Legislative Contacts log.

Thank you on behalf of MAME and the school library media profession!
​
For additional information, questions, comments, or new ideas for advocacy, please email

to Kathy Lester, MAME Advocacy Chair, at kathyl@mimame.org

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Advocacy Toolkit
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Sample Letter
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Legislative Contact Log

Advocacy Efforts Making a Difference!

Advocacy News April 18, 2018: Your MAME leadership team has been working hard to get the ND endorsement on the list of  Critical Shortage Disciplines for Employment of Retirees. We have been successful! To see the letter, click on the PDF to the right. 

Click here to see the updated Critical Shortage List.  ​
mde_nd_endorsement_-_critical_shortage_list__2_.pdf
File Size: 98 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


​Library Media Placement and ESSA in Michigan

faq-library_media_placement_and_essa_in_michigan-8-8-18.pdf
File Size: 80 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File



ALA's District Dispatch Reports Progress!
In the Every Child Achieves Act of 2015, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions met and
adopted the amendment to amend Title V of ESEA establishing “effective school library programs” as an eligible use of funds under a program for literacy and arts education. Read the full report here.


Endorsement of School Librarians from the Michigan Library Cooperative Directors Association
MAME is pleased to share the "Statement on School Libraries" from the Michigan Library Cooperative Directors Association. Not only does the MCDA fully endorse the Library of Michigan's support for school libraries, but also "supports the employment of fully certified school librarians/media specialists in every public and private school in the state." 

MAME's Advocacy Toolkit

Access the MAME Advocacy Toolkit  to support you in advocating for your position and our profession! Infographic flyers, lists with advocacy talking points, and 10 other flyers on how school library media specialists support education.
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School Libraries Matter: The Changing Role of the School Librarian
Check out this entry posted on the blog of the Association of American Publishers, Educational Publisher Group.

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."

Helpful Tips on How to Advocate

Become an effective advocate for your profession whenever and wherever you can! This concise flyer of tips was created by Christina Canfield of the Michigan Education Association.
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Download and use the following handouts for your advocacy efforts!

Today's Role of
School Library Media Specialists

How School Library
Media Specialists Support Literacy


Who to Contact

Addressing Your Legislators

To express your opinion and make your voice heard regarding school libraries, legislative issues, and funding, contact the following people:
  • Michigan House of Representatives and Michigan Senators: Use legislature.mi.gov to find Your Senators and Representatives.  (Click "legislators" in the left column menu. Then click "Find your Representative" or "Find your Senator" and fill in your address to find who yours is.)
  • School district list for the state of Michigan
  • Michigan State Board of Education
  • Brian J. Whiston, State Superintendent
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Use the following address format to write to a state Senator:
The Honorable (full name)
Michigan Senate
State Capitol Building
P.O. Box 30036
Lansing, MI 48909-7536

Dear Senator (last name): 

Use the following address format to write to a State Representative: 
The Honorable (full name)
Michigan House of Representatives
State Capitol Building
P.O. Box 30014
Lansing, MI 48909-7514

Dear Representative (last name):  

Log your Contact!


Our goal is to reach out to every Michigan Senator and Representative. Emails are the easiest, but phone calls and visits are the most effective. This is your opportunity to educate policy makers in your area about the value of school librarians. Check your legislators’ webpage at legislature.mi.gov to see their schedule for local office or coffee hours.

Whenever you contact a legislature, please be sure to log it into our MAME Legislative Contact Record.

Mobile Contact Apps for Legislators

Android:  
  • My Legislators
  • Congress
iPhone: 
  • iLegislator
  • Real Time Congress

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Supporting Literacy and Achievement for ALL Students
By Supporting School Libraries in Michigan


Download a copy of MAME's informational flyer encouraging adding
a certified school library media specialist at each school!

Please share it with influential parties in your education community and use it to promote your own library!


Call to Action for Advocacy
One of the priorities of the MAME Advocacy Committee is to advocate for a requirement for school library media specialists in Michigan.  Please contact your Michigan legislators via email, phone, or ask to meet with them  Legislators are more likely to listen to citizens in their home district.  The Advocacy Committee has created an Advocacy Toolkit of resources to use in your advocacy efforts. You can find it at: http://bit.ly/MAMEtoolkit.  Start with the Advocacy Talking Points & Instructions document that you can find in that folder.



Advocacy Resources Online

Tools and Resources:
  • 21st Century Libraries  A video segment created by CEDAM: the Community Economic Development Association of Michigan and aired on their television show, The Bright Side.
  • AASL Advocacy page and AASL Advocacy brochures to download
  • 3.0 Where School Is Cool! ALA Frontline Advocacy for School Libraries Toolkit
  • Toolkit for School Library Media Programs
  • IFLA School Library Advocacy Kit
  • The Impact of Michigan School Librarians on Academic Achievement: Kids Who Have Libraries Succeed  a 2003 Library of Michigan publication
  • School Library Program Health and Wellness Toolkit
  • AASL Crisis Toolkit
  • AASL's Think Inside the Box: Tips on Using a Message Box
  • School Library Advocacy Resources from ONCBOCES
  • Survive and Thrive! An Advocacy Toolkit for School Librarians
  • ALA Legislative Action Center
  • ALA Online training with advocacy guru Stephanie Vance  Free to ALA members
  • Library of Michigan: School Libraries in the 21st Century  Includes many tools, such as SL 21 measurement criteria, school library guidelines, research on student academic achievement, advocacy videos, and more
  • Standing Up for School Librarians   A Google map of places where school library programs have been defended
  • Talking Points: Why We Need Libraries   From the American Library Association Public Information Office

Studies:
  • Library Research Service: School Library Impact Studies
  • 2003 Library of Michigan study on Michigan school libraries: The Impact of Michigan School Librarians on Academic Achievement: Kids Who Have Libraries Succeed
  • School Libraries Work! A Research Foundation Paper by Scholastic Library Publishing 2008
  • Link found between spending on libraries and student learning  An article published in eScience News, May 6, 2011 on a study which concluded that..."The research shows clearly that schools that support their library programs give their students a better chance to succeed."  (Full report of the study posted here.) 

Articles:
  • The ABC's of Marketing: Promoting Your Library Media Center Program Is a Necessity
  • 10 Reasons Why the Internet is No Substitute for a Library
  • How to make a parent's day AND advocate for your library in one simple step
  • Michigan eLibrary's Library and Information Science collection   A large list of links related to many school library topics, includes advocacy, cataloging, funding, jobs, legislation, PR, etc. 
  • Research That Resonates: Influencing Stakeholders published in School Library Monthly
  • How Pennsylvania School Libraries Pay Off: Investments in Student Achievement and Academic Standards  by Keith Curry Lance and Bill Schwarz and the companion article to the data it contains, Using Data to Influence Stakeholders 
  • Access to Resources and Services in the School Library Media Program: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights from the ALA's Advocacy and Legislation page
  • School Libraries Transform Learning: American Libraries Magazine for Sept/Oct 2014 Special Digital Supplement
  • In this 32-page digital supplement, you'll find terrific articles that showcase the way school libraries and school librarians transform learning. Featuring articles from prominent members of the profession, this publication is available in e-book format and as a PDF.

Video PSAs in Support of School Librarians



    School Libraries Matter: The Changing Role of the School Librarian
    Created by Capstone Publisher and announced at the SLJ Leadership Summit on October 25th.

    Running time: 4:42
    Link:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eilZJp3_h8


    Does Your School Have a Teacher Librarian?
    Created by California School Library Association and released in October 2014..

    Running time: 9:42
    Link: http://youtu.be/QtFkeZPGRro




    Ask Why?

    This 30-second public service announcement features Michigan native and San Francisco 49's Joe Staley. Joe speaks about the importance of certified media specialists in school libraries.

    Running time: :30 seconds
    Link: http://www.mdvideoprod.com/ask-why.html  


    The 21st Century Media Center Program

    The Library of Michigan and MAME collaborated to create this video on the importance of a strong media center program and the difference they make to student learning.

    Running time: 7:51 min.
    Link: http://youtu.be/AsaACY1NM-k

    Michigan Board of Education Statement on School Libraries
    On October 14th, 2014, the Michigan State Board of Education released a statement in support of school library media centers, stating that strong school libraries staffed by certified school librarians are critical to student success.

    Please share this resolution as posted on the MDE web site and our MAME press release on it with your school board members, administrators, staff, parents, reporters, and community groups - all of your potential library supporters!

    For these documents and more on advocacy, visit the MAME collection of materials compiled at bit.ly/MichSLadvocacy.
    mlcda_statement_on_school_libraries_press_release.pdf
    File Size: 87 kb
    File Type: pdf
    Download File

    Teacher Librarians at the Heart of Student Learning

    Created by the Washington Library Media Association, this video points out what today's Library Media Specialist does and how integral they are to student learning.

    Running time: 5:21 min.
    Link: http://youtu.be/z_ybY5O7WvA  

    The mimame.org website is best viewed with Google Chrome.
    ​Copyright 2021 The Michigan Association for Media in Education