Advocacy
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!
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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:
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 |
Advocacy Toolkit
Sample Letter
Legislative Contact Log
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Advocacy Efforts Making a Difference!
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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. |
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Library Media Placement and ESSA in Michigan |
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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.
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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 ToolkitAccess 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...
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
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How School Library
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Who to Contact
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Addressing Your Legislators |
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To express your opinion and make your voice heard regarding school libraries, legislative issues, and funding, contact the following people:
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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
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Android:
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iPhone:
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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:
Studies:
Articles:
- 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
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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 |
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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 |
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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.
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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 | ||