Support the SKILLs Act: Urge your Senators to co-sponsor S. 1699 and your
Representative to co-sponsor H.R. 2864.
On Tuesday June 26, Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Thad Cochran (R-MS) and
Representatives Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and Vernon Ehlers (R-MI) introduced the
Strengthening Kids' Interest in Learning and Libraries (SKILLs) Act that guarantees
students across America will be served by highly qualified, state-certified school
library media specialists and will have the library resources they need to succeed.
The SKILLs Act:
* Requires school districts, to the extent feasible, to ensure that every school
within the district employs at least one highly qualified school library media
specialist in each school library;
* Defines highly qualified school library media specialists as those who have a
bachelor's degree and have obtained full state certification as a school library
media specialist or passed the state teacher licensing examination, with state
certification in library media in such state;
* Establishes as a state goal that there be at least one highly qualified school
library media specialist in every public school no later than the beginning of the
2010-2011 school year;
* Broadens the focus of training, professional development, and recruitment
activities to include school library media specialists;
* Ensures that funds will serve elementary, middle, and high school students; and
* Requires books and materials to be appropriate for and engage the interest of
students in all grade levels and students with special learning needs, including
English language learners.
Urgent Action Needed:
This legislation is critical to the future of school library media specialists.
Contact your Senators and ask them to cosponsor S. 1699. Contact your
Representative to co-sponsor H.R. 2864.
Talking Points:
* Multiple studies have affirmed that there is a clear link between school library
media programs that are staffed by a school library media specialist and student
academic achievement. Across the United States, research has shown that students
in schools with good school libraries learn more, get better grades, and score
higher on standardized test scores than their peers in schools without libraries.
* Long regarded as the cornerstone of the school community, school libraries are no
longer just for books. Instead, they have become sophisticated 21st century
learning environments offering a full range of print and electronic resources that
provide equal learning opportunities to all students, regardless of the
socio-economic or education levels of the community - but only when they are
staffed by school library media specialists trained to collaborate with teachers
and engage students meaningfully with information that matters to them both in the
classroom and in the real world.
* Only about 60 percent of our school libraries have a full-time, state-certified
school library media specialist on staff.
* With limited funding and an increased focus on school performance, administrators
are trying to stretch dollars and cut funds across various programs to ensure that
maximum resources are dedicated to improving student academic achievement.
* Because NCLB does not highlight the direct correlation between school library
media specialists and increased student academicachievement, library resource
budgets are increasingly being used to mitigate the effects of budgetary shortfalls.
Katarzyna A. Agarwal
Communications Specialist
American Association of School Librarians
American Library Association
50 E. Huron St.
Chicago, IL 60611
800-545-2433, ext. 4381
312-280-4381 direct
312-280-5276 fax
kagarwal@ala.org
AASL 13th National Conference & Exhibition
The Future Begins @ your library
October 25-28, 2007
Reno, Nevada
http://www.ala.org/aasl/reno
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