BE PROUD! BE THERE!

A new political climate bodes well for the third annual MSLA Legislative Day scheduled for Thursday, March 8 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.  Members are urged to join the effort at the State House in Boston to show our legislators the important role that school libraries play in 21st century learning, and to lobby for our Bill 2298.  This year we are encouraging members to bring along school administrators and/or parent volunteers to show the range of support we have within our schools.  In addition, we are going to present awards to winners of the 2007 MSLA bookmark contest at the State House.

MSLA members can support our Legislative Day efforts in several ways:

• Join the events on March 8th—visits from our members are the best way to educate our legislators about the important work we do in Massachusetts schools; those attending will receive talking points and training about how best to approach legislators

• Provide an exhibit showing your best work—projects that show how your library supports 21st century learning by teaching information literacy, assisting in differentiating curriculum, providing multicultural resources, or helping students acquire life-long learning skills will be a solid addition to our day

• Bring a parent volunteer or administrator—as important as it is to hear from US, it is even more impressive to hear others testify to the value we provide to our school community.  

• Participate in our Bookmark Contest—Awarding the winners of our bookmark contest at the State House will provide an opportunity to show a direct connection we make with students. 

For complete details about the contest, go to the Bookmark Contest page

• Contact your legislators—look for the MSLA postcard coming in the mail to all our members in late February.  Send this postcard to your legislators to urge them to support our legislative agenda and show their support for Massachusetts’ school library programs.

Members who would like to participate in MSLA’s Legislative Day are urged to contact one of the Legislative Committee co-chairs:  

Judi Paradis  This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
Bob Roth  This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Our lobbyist, Chris Gregory, is working with Legislative Committee co-chair Bob Roth to draft new legislation that will ask for financial support for school library programs in Massachusetts.  Gregory is also hopeful that legislation including school library programs in the Chapter 70 Education Reform bill will be passed this year.  Members who attend Legislative Day will be updated on the status of our legislation, and will get support to lobby their local legislators to ask for support for our bills. Currently, we have filed 2298, a language bill that would insert the words "school libraries" in the Education Reform law. This lobbying should build on the testimony that several members presented to incoming Governor Deval Patrick’s education transition team in December. 

Schedule for Legisative Day:

8:30-9:30 a.m.:  Set up in Grand Staircase
9:30-10:15 a.m.:  Meet with MSLA members and supporters to explain lobbying plan, get update on MSLA legislation from Chris Gregory and go over talking points; exhibits available for legislators and others to browse
     10:30 a.m.:  Present awards to winners of MSLA bookmark contest
     11:00-1:00 p.m.:  Lobbying members of legislature
     1:00-2:00 p.m.:  Lunch and exhibit
     2:00-3:00 p.m.:  Regroup to share information and formulate next strategies
               based on lobbying feedback
     3:00 p.m.:  Clean up

We are clear that if we want strong library programs with certified teachers in Massachusetts we need to SHOUT!  Join the effort, we need you all.