Deadline for National Library Legislative Day Extended
This article originally appeared in SLJ’s Extra Helping. Sign up now!
Debra Lau Whelan -- School Library Journal, 4/24/2008 2:00:00 PM
It’s still not too late to sign up for National Library Legislative Day, an annual event sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA), which brings hundreds of library supporters to Washington, DC, to urge lawmakers to support libraries.“It’s so important during an election year to have as many librarians as possible walking the halls of Congress,” says Melanie Anderson, ALA’s assistant director of the office of government relations.
One of the main issues media specialists will focus on is funding for school libraries. Although President Bush’s 2009 budget proposed a funding hike for public libraries through the Library Services and Technology Act, it kept monies for the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program at $19.1 million, the same level as 2008.
Registration for National Library Legislative Day, which takes place on May 13 and 14, has been extended to May 2. In preparation, ALA’s Washington office has been releasing a series of podcasts and webinars, with the help of Stephanie Vance, the AdVocacy Guru.
The next installment in the series of advocacy podcasts is scheduled for May 5. And if you never got a chance are still available for downloading.
Another great way to get ready for your Congressional meetings is to watch the two webinars that Stephanie Vance has given on advocacy, available on the National Library Legislative Day Web site
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The site is also where you’ll find many tools, including briefs, schedules, and tips for creating a Virtual Library Legislative Day (for those who can't make it to Washington). Anyone with questions about National Library Legislative Day can contact Susan Heltemes at 800-941-8478 or by email.
