News

Demonstrate to Adminstrators how libraries play an important part in student achievement!
The ALA Washington Office has posted the following overview of potential areas for library funding available in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA): []. Now is the time to talk with your district administration about how these funds will be used in your district. This one-time influx of dollars may be spent on school library materials, staffing, construction, and modernization. There is a separate category for rural community projects, which may include school libraries. There is a separate category for Enhancing Education through Technology with funds available in Fall 2009 for K-12 school libraries, as well as additional Title 1 money that may be spent on school library materials.

District administrators may not think about these allowable uses for federal stimulus money. You need to lobby for these funds and present your case. Here is some advice:

1. Watch the video at [|http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/].

2. Check out the ALA site at www.ala.org/knowyourstimulus

3. Check our Pennsylvania’s info at www.recovery.pa.gov and click on Education. A spreadsheet showing approximate amounts of federal stimulus funds headed to your district is provided.

To justify the use of the new federal funds for school library services, tell your administrators how students will benefit:

1. With added access and better collections, students will become capable and avid readers.

2. With resources and technology to teach, students will become information literate.

3. Teachers who partner with librarians create high-quality learning experiences that are resource-rich.

Quote them the results of the Keith Curry Lance study that correlated PSSA reading test scores to characteristics of quality school library programs:

• The success of any school library program in promoting high academic achievement depends on the presence of adequate professional and support staff.

• For the three grades tested, the relationship between library staffing and PSSA reading scores is both positive and statistically significant.

• Three out of five Pennsylvania elementary schools with adequate library staffing reported average or above-average reading scores, while the same proportion of such schools with inadequate library staffing reported below average scores.

• Pennsylvania middle schools with the best PSSA reading scores spend twice as much on their school libraries as the lowest scoring schools.

• The presence of a large collection of books, magazines, and newspapers in the school library is not enough to generate high academic achievement by students. Such collections make a positive difference ONLY when they are part of school-wide initiatives to integrate information literacy into the school’s approach to standards and curricula.

Source: Measuring Up To Standards: The Impact of School Library Programs and Information Literacy in Pennsylvania Schools [|http://www.statelibrary.state.pa.us/libraries/LibrStdsBklt.pdf]

Remember, it’s about the students and student learning! Frame your requests around student achievement. This is a one-time shot! Don’t wait until everyone else lobbies for their programs. Do it now! Good luck!

Debra E. Kachel, PSLA Legislation Chairperson Instructor & Scholarship Director School Library & Information Technologies Graduate School Mansfield University, Mansfield, PA 16933 Home Address: 15 Conestoga Road, Lancaster, PA 17602 717-393-6205 (H) 717-393-4760 (H FAX) 570-404-5033 (BlackBerry) dkachel@mansfield.edu []