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We Need You to Help Save School 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, complete with a school library media specialist to educate students on how to effectively use those resources.

School libraries provide equal learning opportunities in myriad ways to all students, regardless of the socio-economic or education levels of the community – but only when they are staffed by state-certified school library media specialists, who are trained to educate kids on today’s information resources.

To that end, we need YOUR help to keep today’s school children on the leading edge of information literacy skills so they can be competitive in the 21^st century workplace!

The SKILLS Act: Contact Congress Now!

Currently, the No Child left Behind Act is up for reauthorization by Congress. We need to ensure the inclusion of the Strengthening Kids' Interest in Learning and Libraries (SKILLs) Act, a bill that is specifically designed to keep libraries dynamic and vital resources in the school.

In order for the SKILLs Act to be included in NCLB - that is, to ensure a school library in every school staffed by a state-certified school library media specialist - each member of the House of Representatives and Senate must support the SKILLS Act.

The SKILLs Act is the single most important piece of legislation concerning school libraries that will come before Congress this year. Please contact your Representative and Senators immediately and ask them to support it.p>

The inclusion of the SKILLs Act in NCLB is critical to the future of school libraries. 

Why?

•    Parents: This means your child will have access to a library with a state-certified school library media specialist who can teach them how intelligently and responsibly use today’s information resources – including computers and the many programs used in modern society.

•    Employers: The employees of tomorrow will be information literate and will be better prepared to meet the challenges of the 21st century workplace.

•    Teachers and School Administrators: You rely on the school librarian to help your students do their schoolwork and do it well. The SKILLs Act ensures their position in your school!

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 tests than their peers in schools without libraries.

Please contact your Representative and Senators immediately and ask them to support the SKILLs Act.

Two Minutes Can Make a Difference
Contact your Member of Congress TODAY and tell them how you use and benefit from the library in your community. Your members of Congress will remember your story - they are relying on you to show them the importance of the library in your community. Most library experiences don't seem dramatic on the surface, but the impact libraries have for real people is significant. Statistics can be impressive, but personal stories bring the library message to life. To contact Congress, start here. Find Your Official - Search by ZIP code.	Stay informed Action E-List: Get an alert when your involvement can make a critical difference. Alert Feed: Get our alerts in your RSS feed reader MegaVote: Get your reps' votes by e-mail weekly!!	Spread the word Tell-A-Friend: Send a note to a friend to let them know about this site! Web Sticker: Put our "Write to Congress" web sticker on YOUR web site!	Issues Learn more about LSTA and LSL here.