so let's organize and put pressure on him/white house. supporting libraries is a pretty safe political position. i know most librarians are democratic/liberal/progressive, but republicans are generally supportive of libraries and although they want to cut spending more than the Pres does, they should be used (as should any avenue) to get our way. ALA has 60,000 members but zero political clout. it is because the membership is timid, apathetic, and, quite frankly, weak. let's get loud, get active, and get smart; if there was a consistent, targeted assault (not literally) on this cut and the public became aware of it, they would support it bc, as i said, supporting libraries is pretty much a no brainer public policy and a position most ppl take. and thus, it may be restored bc the only thing politicians care about is getting re-elected, and when a vast majority of the public feels a certain way, well, the bandwagon fills out pretty quickly. looka t how consistent and focused the tea party's message is, and they are not even an official group. i am surely not a tea partier, but their tactics of consistent on message activism is to be commended. i hope and i expect ALA to create a letter template the members can use and to exhaust all options at the very least; it's the least they can do besides the usual nothing.

Noah, I understand your frustrations and desire to take action, but please do not accuse the American Library Association of "the usual nothing" (your words) or refer to our membership as "apathetic, timid and weak" regarding efforts to advance an agenda that supports libraries. Quite the opposite is true! Our Washington Office provides great leadership and a variety of avenues for advocacy. Maybe you should take time to read about the steps already taken by ALA (on many legislative issues) and learn more about how to get involved in your state and online. Be assured that ALA's Washington Office would welcome your support of their efforts. There are several great resources (toolkits, videos, FAQs, etc.) available to help you get started. May I suggest the following links from the website: ADVOCACY: How to Get Involved http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/advocacy/federall egislation/getinvolved/index.cfm FEDERAL ADVOCACY RESOURCES: http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/advocacy/federall egislation/getinvolved/grassroots/index.cfm#res I am sure your energy and eagerness will serve ALA well as we continue to work together to support libraries. All best, Allison ALA member since 1999

I think this article is too politically motivated. These are tough times. Are you unhappy that the president is proposing an overall increase in funding for education despite the economic environment? Districts and schools will need to get smarter about how they fund their libraries and media centers. With the increase in edtech funds this shouldn't be too hard.

These are tough times. But we do know that kids in schools with the best libraries score higher on standardized tests. And, yes, improved skills is the goal. However, in times like these where everyone has to do more with less, school libraries need to take a hard look at their function. If one child says, "I would rather eat dirt than go to the (school) library," there is one school library that could be eliminated in favor of others that draw kids through their doors. If there is one school librarian who demands that all teachers search their students' backpacks before they go home to make sure they are not taking home a library book, then there is another library that can be eliminated, the money passed on to a library that encourages kids to read outside of school. If there is one school where more than seventy-five percent of the students say they don't like to read at all, then there is another library to cut, and give that money to the library that can't keep the books moving fast enough to all the avid student readers. Before we whine about cuts, how can we make the money we do have for school libraries better serve the students? http://www.letthemhavebooks.com

Allison S. Schools will have to get smarter about how they fund their libraries and media centers.......we are down to cupcake cake sales now to do it and Bochelle even wants to cut that out! Please only speak about things that you know a little about. Not these important subjects!

Gaby- So if students are not happy with their library your solution is to cut the program for those students? How does this make sense? Perhaps a new librarian is in order, but to do away with the program altogether does not meet the needs of our students. All students have the right to equal educational opportunities! Students deserve access to materials in their school libraries. Students deserve access to a certified teacher librarian who will provide them with important 21st century skills, and an appreciation and love of reading. Do away with a program...no! Support school libraries...yes!

To Joseph: A school librarian can only do so much with our increasingly limited budgets and school boards that think we can be eliminated. There is also a culture being created in many states that equates to "if it's not on the [whatever the acronym of your state test] then we don't do it" and that means students are not taken to the library for lessons or storytime, etc. If a school is in an area where families don't read then students aren't going to like to read - face it, it's easier to watch TV - then no matter what the librarian does, and whatever your collection is like, students are not going to like to read. I've been through both sides of this in the same school; I've advocated for the library, been involved in state and national associations, done programming, and bought as much as I can and what I knew would be popular and it made no difference until our student population changed to students who had parents who were involved. Now I have a majority of students who read and talk books with me; who come in daily to see if there are any new books on display, and who tell their friends about books they've read.

I agree, but I don't, with Gaby. If the librarian is not doing all they can to make the library patron-friendly, they just shouldn't be there. Period. There are plenty of aspiring librarians out there who are willing to do a better job of promoting literacy and usage. I don't have year-upon-year of experience, but I do know (by experience) that if I was at a school where 75% of the students hated reading, I could work with the ELA teachers to cut that number tremendously. Having non-readers connect is part of the position.

At the same time the feds are cutting libraries, they are cheerfully investing billions in new tests - the testing program described in the Blueprint exceeds, by far, the already excessive amount of testing done under NCLB. There is no evidence supporting increasing testing. There is plenty of evidence supporting libraries and librarians. It's all connected ...

As a school media trained librarian I am sorry to see funding for library grants cut by the federal government. However, I feel reducing federal spending is a larger priority. Let the local schools support their school libraries. Half my county's budget goes to schools. I think they are well funded enough. Libraries are important so are roads and infrastructure and research. Schools alreadt have teachers plus reading specialists plus libraries. More federal funding does not seem to be the answer to the problem.

Joseph M, the libraries that you suggest be cut are probably the libraries that are already underfunded or do not have a certified librarian. What these libraries need is a certified librarian who selects exciting books and knows how to encourage kids to read. they also need enough money to buy a at least a few new books each year. Also, there is no better or cost effective way to serve all of the students in a school than funding a good library program. Please read the research concerning library programs and students' achievement scores.

At a time when we are lagging behind in the sciences and in technology expertise when compared to the rest of the developed (and certain developing) nations, decreasing funding for key areas such as information science (as it is known in other parts of the world, not by the archaic "library science") education makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. The "Sputnik" moments are now passing us by daily as information technologies literally fly through the ether - and are generated by those educated in India, Korea, Japan, and now China.

Dr. Richard -- My comments were not about the cuts themselves or what libraries should or should not do. I only addressed Noah's negative comments about the American Library Association and its members. I think you confused my comments with someone else...likely because the positioning of the names with each set of comments is a little weird. Please look again and you will see the name of the person making the comments appears BELOW the comments themselves, not above. Allison S. P.S. No matter your political inclination, there really is no need to refer to our First Lady Michelle Obama as "Bochelle" as I am sure your mother, a teacher or a librarian has taught you better! That was very a display of very immature behavior and completely unnecessary.

Correction to last sentence in my previous post: That was very immature behavior and completely unnecessary.

"slap in the face"? Bit dramatic.

Obama's a hypocrite. Just last week he gave a speech saying Americans don't have jobs because we need "more education" (more science, math, blah blah blah). So, what does he do? CUT funding for libraries.

Obama needs the Lord Jesus' help and we are not fair to jmerel criticize without or prayer for the hardest and nastiest job in the world, representing a nation that is hated by nearly all the rest of the world because of its blessings. The present fury over gay rights and the murder of babies, alive and about to be born into this wicked if not wacky world in which we live will be met with no small outpouring of God's justice. If the church of the living God would proclaim the salvation that Christ suffered and died to give it would be a much better world. But instead it has proclaimed to a large degree a false gospel (if it can be called a gospel) where the dead are worshipped, rital is substituted for living faith in God, and where perversion and murder are racticed even within the church confines itself. No, I don't approve of much tha Obama stands for, and though I am dubious about some of his supposed changes, I still know that he needs our prayers, along with his wife and children. And while we are praying, we need to pray for our own loved ones, neighbors and leaders. (Governor Qinn of Illinois is on a par with the other liberals who have no regard for our nation's future, so pray for him also. He needs it worse that Obama I suspect. -B.G.Drake