Big Names Show Up for Washington Library Summit

Joan Oleck -- School Library Journal, 2/6/2008 6:51:00 AM

Even bone-chilling temperatures and driving rain couldn't stop the now-famous trio of Spokane, WA, mothers and the February 1 summit they organized to halt school library cuts across the state.

Their all-day event, including a noon rally at the state legislature, attracted close to 100 librarians, mothers, and children, as well as big names like Sara Kelly Johns, president of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), Julie Walker, AASL’s executive director, American Library Association President Loriene Roy, and other prominent educators and library advocates.

Also on hand for the event were Gary Hartzell, a member of the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries advisory board; Antioch University President Cassandra Manuelito-Kerkvliet; and Michael Eisenberg, founding dean of the University of Washington School of Information.

Many of the rally participants wore black and white, Johns says, to emphasize their belief that funding school libraries "is a black and white issue."

The event was organized by mothers Susan McBurney, Denrette Hill, and Lisa Layera Brunkan, all of whom are asking Washington residents to get behind their cause by sending individually personalized emails to members of the House and Senate appropriations committees telling the how vitally important school libraries are to student achievement. The timing is crucial because those committees are currently finalizing next year's budgets.

For contact information and background information, visit the Fund Our Future Washington blog. Also check out Johns' blog post about the Spokane Moms.