March 20, 2007

Governor Deval Patrick
The State House
Boston, MA 02133

Dear Governor Patrick,

I applaud your creation of a Pre-K to Grade 12 Education Task Force.

As the Task Force studies the state of education in the Commonwealth, I hope that you will urge its members to carefully scrutinize the serious inequity that currently exists across the state in students’ access to quality literature, information resources, and school library professionals. Some cities and towns offer excellent school library programs and resources, managed by credentialed professionals. However, many school districts have libraries that are run by parent volunteers, with resources that are out of date and inadequate for students’ academic needs.

The Department of Education has no one designated to provide leadership and set standards for school library programs statewide, so there is no consistency in services from town to town, and sometimes even within a single district. Because school libraries are not included in Chapter 70, there are often no funds for districts to keep collections current and aligned with the Curriculum Frameworks. Almost half of Massachusetts schools do not have a full-time librarian. This is a situation that I implore the Education Task Force to address.

I hope you have had a chance to look at the materials I left for you on March 8th when I was at the State House for the Massachusetts School Library Association’s Legislative Day. The packet contains several documents that enlarge upon the information in this letter and underscore the impact a good school library program has on student achievement.

Leadership in support of school libraries will help education reform succeed and Massachusetts students achieve. Please let me know if I can provide you with further information or assistance.

Sincerely,

Katherine Lowe
MSLA President and Executive Director