I let her in on my secret. If I hear that I win the election on May 1, my retirement papers will go in the next day. (I am eligible to retire and can do so anytime). My school is really good about my professional days, but I want to be more flexible than I can be while working. After I do that, I will hire a cleaning person for my house.I want to clear the way to do a good job for libraries.

I do think that it's the right time for a school librarian to speak for ALA, representing all librarians. I hope others think so, too.

My husband is on a boat trip with his bandmates from Double Axel. They started in the Thousand Islands near the Canadian border and they are currently docked in Cape May, NJ, headed across the Cheasapeake Bay tomorrow morning. Last night when Frank called, he asked what I was doing and, when I told him about working on a design for an eye-catching sticker for badges at conferences, Alex volunteered to work on it for me. A couple of hours later, he sent me one that was new, not a clean-up of the one I was working on. I sure appreciate his taking that out of my hands. Sent to a local store this morning, the design was translated and stickers were ordered.

Here is the sticker, ready to catch eyes and encourage support. They will be done by Monday and packed for my 7.5 hour trip to Niagara Falls and the New York Library Association annual conference. I'm looking forward to getting ideas and concerns from my NYLA friends.

All of this was done around the fun of the seventh grade Native American project, sixth graders working on summarizing current events articles from databaes and citing them for their CNN Live project where they are newscasters, and planning for the astronomy project that starts tomorrow.

Here's the sticker:

At the School Library Journal Summit, I read it as part of my wrap-up speech and school librarians were once again disappointed that there is not a direct acknowledgement of the school librarian's role as teachers of information literacy. (We get weary of seeing ourselves in reports like the recent Carnegie report on  improving adolescent literacy, Time to Act: An Agenda for Advancing Literacy for College and Career Success, but not being mentioned.) President Obama does mention the role of libraries: "At the same time, Americans have unprecedented access to the diverse and independent sources of information, as well as institutions such as libraries and universities, that can help separate truth from fiction and signal from noise."

That IS what libraries do--public, academic and certainly school libraries. We can own this; we can make it ours. We can print this off, make a display, send a message out on our intranet so all our colleagues know, write a press release for the local media, send it out on the state library listserv. It's an advocacy tool, another for our toolbelt, and can be this week's promotion of our library programs. Promotion has to be deliberate and persistent to gain the advocates we need to speak for us.

Speaking of that Carnegie report, YALSA President Linda Braun has posted a strong response. That oversight is not one we can overlook.

School Library Journal published an announcement yesterday and I am going to be busy here in DC at their Leadership Summit, but I will love to hear from people with their ideas for what ALA can do for them, how it can make a difference. I KNOW ALA can.

http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6699587.html  Thanks to my son Ryan for the new picture! My baby website is up but more will be added to it soon. I am hoping that between the blog and the website, I will hear from a lot of people with ideas and concerns.

Stay tuned.

The march was organized by the group Equal Education which is fighting for equal educational opportunities for all South African children, starting by raising money to replace broken windows. Calling for school libraries is their first attempt at a national issue. They are already getting results.

I posted this story on Facebook and the AASL and LM_NET discussion lists and got many responses. One of them was from Sue Giffard from the Ethical Culture School in New York City who shared that the young girl from the suburban school with a good school library is her niece! She should be thanked for working for other students' access to the resources she has.

I also heard from Dr. Lucille Thomas who has been an inspiration for me during my whole library career. A past president of SLMS (School Library Media Section of the New York Library Association), president of the Brooklyn Public Library, and active in ALA and AASL, she is responsible for School Library Media Day in New York State and worked to get April named National School Library Media Month. She was so excited to read the article from the AASLForum that she called me at school. I was in NYC for the Regents Advisory Council on Libraries meeting but called her back as soon as I had a chance. Her comment, echoed by others who e-mailed with me, is that it would be so wonderful to see United States students marching and shouting, "Give us libraries! Give us librarians!"

I couldn't agree more!

Whoo-hoo!

The conference issue of Knowledge Quest is now in full swing with the earliest deadline of the four I've edited but the articles should be great--the line up of authors reflecting on the nine common beliefs and professional development is a strong one. I know co-editor Laura Pearle and I will be doing final edits between meetings and programs at Midwinter but it'll be worth it to hit the deadline and get the issue out on time...KQ's hit its mailing deadlines well so far this year and I'm not going to hold up this one!

Happy New Year to all; school libraries are on the line this year as districts react to financial pressures so let's promote and market the important work we do, consistently and loudly--a resolution I WON'T break this year!

Here’s a chance to promote your library program (Nov. 15 deadline):

This year, under American Library Association (ALA) President Jim Rettig’s leadership, members will have new opportunities to participate in ALA and to communicate their success stories. One of these opportunities is an ALA-wide virtual poster session.

The first of two poster sessions will debut this fall. Its focus is “Community Central.”

Share your experiences of making your library vital in your community (any kind of community). The possibilities are almost endless. Are you reaching underserved populations? Are you vital to local political activity? Is your library a center of learning? Are you visible outside the building? Demonstrate the specific purpose of your community involvement and the ways that you have achieved that purpose. Photos, images, and sounds may accompany your presentation.

To be considered for inclusion in the poster session, please send a proposal in the form of a summary of your library’s efforts, making sure to address the following points:

1. Question or problem (need not be stated as hypotheses)
2. Environmental context of the question or problem (such as public libraries, academic libraries)
3. Organizational context of the question or problem (internal services, outreach, community analysis, etc.)
4. Approaches to address the question or problem (i.e., the specific ways the library and its staff have addressed the kinds of programs and activities mentioned in the Community Central description)
5. Outcomes (details on the effects of the approaches, including data, testimonials or other evidence of community involvement)

The summary must be no longer than three pages, double-spaced (one or more photos or images may be included as part of the three pages).

The deadline for submitting proposals is Nov. 15. Approximately 25 submissions will be selected and will be available for viewing during January 2009. Please send the proposals via e-mail to Dr. John M. Budd at BuddJ@missouri.edu.

A second virtual poster session will take place in the spring of 2009.

Rettig’s initiatives for his presidential term are about “Creating Connections” –connections among our libraries; connections between the communities we serve and those who make funding and policy decisions; connections with prospective library workers; connections with ALA members. His initiatives address three critical issues: Advocacy, Diversity and Member Participation.

For more information about ALA President Jim Rettig’s initiatives, please visit http://jimrettig.org/content/initiatives/initiatives.htm .

Thank you to everyone around the country who have passed the word on about the Washington legislation and/or showed support in other ways. Lisa's mother even came from Ohio to stay with her family so that she could be in Olympia!

GREAT news came later yesterday afternoon from Susan McBurney, one of the Spokane Moms (Denette, Susan and Lisa):

Susan wrote:

Well folks, unbelievably good news!

Olympia continues to mystify and thrill us. After passing out of Ways and Means yesterday, we expected to wait to be scheduled in the Senate Rules Committee. But .... SB#6380 was heard by and passed through the Rules committee this morning, and then went for a full Senate floor vote this afternoon. Senators McAuliffe, Eide, Marr, Brown, Honeyford, Hargrove, and Parlette spoke in support of the bill, and it in was UNANIMOUSLY PASSED just after 4pm this afternoon.

Lisa was there to experience it, and was mentioned by name in Senator Eide's speech. Our grassroots effort was also publicly recognized in the speeches given by Senators Brown, McAuliffe and Parlette.

THANK YOU EVERYONE for all you've done to get us here! This is an AMAZING accomplishment, a testament to all of us! The bill will go over to the house next. We'll keep you posted.

There will be more info. posted at the blog later http://librariesfordemocracy.org/fundfuture/
But we wanted you to know the great news.

YEE-HA!!!

Susan and Denette