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| ADVOCACY 5/4/2025
Dear Colleagues, Let's keep the momentum bolstered at the conference by Senator Jake Oliviera's eloquent address regarding book bans, ebooks and school library standards. If you haven't already, please contact your legislators regarding the very important library bills that have been filed. Each of these bills impacts our students. Feel free to copy the following language into an email to your state representative and senator. The School Library Standards BillsHD.4488 &S.428 compel DESE to adopt the AASL School Library Standards and to gather accurate licensed school librarian data. Currently, there are no school library standards in the commonwealth. The eBook Bills,H.3595 and S.2330,call for a study of actual eBook costs and will bring together publishers, legislators and librarians to determine fair pricing. The Freedom to Read Bills,H.3594 and S.2328, provide equitable access to collections, a civil right for all citizens, and protections for school and public librarians against personal attack. To see whether or not your representative or senator has co-signed, click the bill link and then the tab that says petitioner. We need many more co-signers for all of them. The time taken to do this truly makes a difference.
Thank you, Debbie Deborah Lang Froggatt MSLA Outreach Director |
3/21/2025 from Barb Fecteau, MSLA President: React to the cuts in Library Services: https://www.markey.senate.gov/trumpstories - it is a portal to tell your stories about how you are affected by what is going on in Washington. If we fill it up with stories of our students accessing the databases and ebooks, it will make this issue more visible. Feel free to share it with teachers who you know use these resources too.
3/5/3025 From Deb Froggatt:
The gathering in Norwood this past Sunday and Monday with many of you was energizing and heartwarming. The collective effort and care given on behalf of the Commonwealth's children is a testament the impact that our profession has on academic success.
I write to ask you to reach out to your state representatives and senators to ask them to add their names as sponsors to the bills listed below. Here is the Find Your Legislator tool.
* School Library Standards This bill will help establish the AASL standards and require that DESE performs a school librarian survey so we have an accurate look at equitable access to effective school library programs. The bill is SD.1769. Here is the School Library Standards One Pager.
* Freedom to Read These bills would further protect libraries and librarians from censorship and abuse. There are several bills, but we are asking for legislators to sponsor SD.141 and HD.625. You can share this Freedom to Read handout with your legislators.
* eBook Bill - These bills would work towards increasing access to digital resources, while also creating a fairer pricing model for libraries. The bills include SD.2329 and HD.1221. You can share this eBook handout with your legislators.
Senator Jacob Oliveira spoke Monday morning. The energy in the room regarding his support of our efforts was powerful. We are fortunate to have him as a school library advocate. Please reach out and thank him: Jacob.Oliveira@masenate.gov
Your correspondence of thanks and seeking support truly make a difference.
IMLS draws less than 0.003% of the annual federal budget yet has enormous impact in communities nationwide. From technology classes for jobseekers to services for people with disabilities, from library delivery for older Americans to summer reading programs for families, IMLS funding makes a real, concrete difference in the lives of Americans every day. The President’s executive order puts all of those services at risk—and so much more. Veterans, businesses, students, families, unemployed and underemployed people, disabled people, and seniors use services supported by IMLS. As seedbeds of education and innovation, our nation’s 125,000 public, school, academic, and special libraries deserve more, not less support. We need every library supporter to show up and make their voices heard. |
| Purpose of the MTA School Library Task Force:The MTA Task Force on Equity in PreK-12 School Libraries was the result of New Business Item #4, adopted by the MTA Annual Meeting of Delegates in May 2018. The Task Force was formed to gather data about the state of school library staffing in MTA locals, inspire MTA members to look into issues of inequitable access to licensed school librarians and library programs, and provide tools members can use for advocating and bargaining to remedy this inequity. LEARN MORE: https://massteacher.org/employment-and-licensure/mta-school-library-task-force |
ToolKit from the MTA School Library Task Force
1/2025 Senator Oliveira has filed the School Library Standards Act SD1769
The bill was based on the MSLA Policy Brief (April, 2024) that John helped MSLA to write. From this John prompted us to develop this MSLA Legislative Proposal 12/24. Legislative season began quickly. From this proposal, John pulled out two important elements for legislation that requires no funding. The survey mentioned in the legislation will bring supporting data from which we can construct, in time, funded legislation for equitable student access to effective school library programs across the Commonwealth. ~ Deborah Froggatt, Director of Outreach 1/31/2025
Advocacy Chairperson
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PO Box 336 | Wayland, MA | 01778 | 508-276-1697 Emily Kristofek, Office Manager/Event Planner ekristofek@maschoolibraries.org Massachusetts School Library Association. All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2025. |
