Current Trends in Advocacy
Current Trends in Advocacy
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As school districts across Illinois are looking at ways to balance their budgets, we must advocate for our profession before the position of school librarian is on the chopping block. Here is a recent letter written by AISLE President Janine Asmus that was published in the Chicago Tribune.
Feel free to edit and use to advocate for school librarians in your community. (Text version here: Letter to the Editor)
Why not thank your administration and board for complying with Illinois's book banning law? Use our template to copy, customize, and email!
In August of 2022, the Advocacy Committee put together a special edition of the AISLE Advocate Newsletter.
You can view it here. There are ideas for promotion, including a "12 months of Advocacy" plan to put your school library in the public eye year-round.
It can happen to anyone - a librarian is notified by their building or district administration that their position is being restructured or eliminated. Don't give up - remind people of your value!
Elissa Malespina's article at left has comprehensive steps to take when facing a school library position cut. In addition to those:
Contact the Association of Illinois School Library Educators (AISLE) to make them aware of the cut in position.
Contact the Advocacy Committee using this form to give us more information and request a letter be sent from AISLE to the school administration addressing the consequences of this action.
Consider editing and sending the above editorial to the local newspaper.
Remember - advocacy should be a daily practice and not a life preserver! If you show administration your value on a day-to-day basis you are less likely to be in an unexpected situation.
Resources on School Library Advocacy
Resources on School Library Advocacy
“Could School Librarians Be the Secret to Increasing Literacy Scores?” EveryLibrary Institute, Jan. 2022, https://www.everylibraryinstitute.org/school_librarians_literacy_scores_report.
EveryLibrary. “School Libraries Are the Only Thing That Matters.” Medium, EveryLibrary, 6 July 2021, https://medium.com/everylibrary/school-libraries-are-the-only-thing-that-matters-bbef39f73727.
"Ready, Set, Advocate" resource from the IL State Library Association (November 2021) https://www.ila.org/advocacy/ready-set-advocate
Soulen, Rita Reinsel, and Lara Tedrow. “Students’ Frequency of Access to School Library Materials in Transformative Times.” Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Aug. 2021, doi:10.1177/09610006211037721<https://doi.org/10.1177/09610006211037721>
Teich, Annie Galvin. “How School Librarians Are Evolving.” TechLearningMagazine, Tech & Learning, 4 Oct. 2021, https://www.techlearning.com/how-to/how-school-librarians-are-evolving.
American Library Association's statement on budget recommendations: $12-$15/student/year
SLIDE Research Study --Keith Curry Lance and Debra E. Kachel; Includes 2021 Data on the Status of School Librarians in the U.S
Article written by Keith Curry Lance and Debra E. Kachel titled Why school librarians matter: What years of research tell us. (March 2018)
http://kappanonline.org/lance-kachel-school-librarians-matter-years-research/The Illinois State Library presents statistical information for various types of libraries.
https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/library/libraries/statistics.html“School Library Research (SLR).” American Association of School Librarians (AASL), 13 Jan. 2022, https://www.ala.org/aasl/pubs/slr.
Article by John Chrastka, Executive Director of EveryLibrary, titled "School Librarians Must Treat the Fight for Their Future Like the Political Campaign It Is." (October 2021)
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/libraries/article/87560-school-librarians-must-treat-the-fight-for-their-future-like-the-political-campaign-it-is.htmlThe Reaching Across Illinois Library System (RAILS) developed the My Library Is… campaign to help member libraries tell your stories and prove your library's value to stakeholders.
https://www.mylibraryis.org/home
Researchers to Watch:
Stephen Krashen @skrashen
Dr. Coffey from Wayne State University
Deb Kashel
AASL Knowledge Quest newsletter
Elissa Malespina @elissamalespia
New York information: https://nycdoe.libguides.com/home
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