Antioch University Seattle School Library Endorsement Program: Messaging

Create a Regular School Library Newsletter – Library Newsletters can be a great advocacy tool. Newsletters can be shared with students, parents, teachers, administrators, and others to keep them informed about the great things going on in the school library and to keep them abreast of available resources. There are several great KQ Blog posts about library newsletters including posts by Margaret Sullivan (https://knowledgequest.aasl.org/communicating-with-parents-through-newsletters/) and Kelly Hincks (https://knowledgequest.aasl.org/using-newsletters-advocate/)

Thanks to Michael Zetterberg, student in EDU 6030 LIBM, for this elevator speech

Some Talking Points for Administrators:

1. Certified school librarians are the only teaching professionals in your school who engage with every student and work collaboratively with every teacher to deliver quality, more personalized instruction to every student, while selecting and recommending the most appropriate resources, whether they are in the library or on the Internet. 
2. A functioning library under the leadership of a certified school librarian is the ONLY "classroom" visited and used by the entire school where resources are cost-effectively developed, shared, and reused by all students and all teachers. 
3. Even small school library collections are conservatively worth over a quarter of a million dollars. No business would allow such a costly asset to be unsupervised without a professional manager who has the experience and knowledge to do so. Certified school librarians are specifically educated to develop and manage library collections of print and digital resources, including the technologies necessary to use them.
4. What school librarians teach helps students to be productive future citizens who can contribute to our community and economy by being able to find, evaluate, and use trustworthy information to make good decisions about their finances, health, and careers.
5. Schools with school librarians have higher graduation rates.
6. Students who read more improve reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, and writing skills.
7. Instructional school library programs help to close the achievement gap among our most vulnerable students.

SOURCE:  Garcia, Lily Eskelsen. "Libraries lead and librarians transform." NEA's Lily's Blackboard 4/9/18

From this article:

"The best library stories have six structural elements:

A real person. Too often, we tell our story in generalities. Libraries serve “children” or “seniors” or “small businesses.” But to connect with an audience, we must be more specific. A real person can be captured in just a few phrases: “Caiden was 3 years old.”

A real problem. The hook of the story is a life problem. “Caiden stuttered.” At this point, notice that we are not talking about an institution. We are talking about one person. This captures people’s emotional attention.

A library intervention. Now we introduce a supporting character—a library staff member, program, or service. “One day Caiden noticed a dog in the library. A little girl was reading to it.” The library points out the path to resolving the real person’s problem. But it’s important to keep the focus on the original character, and not let the library take over the story.

A happy ending. “After reading to that endlessly interested and patient dog for many months, Caiden didn’t stutter anymore.” The library has provided a solution to a real person’s problem.

A single fact. “In our state alone, more than 112 libraries offer a ‘read to dogs’ program.” A brief statistic like this underscores the magnitude of both the problem and the solution.

A tagline. This is a message that provides the frame for a picture that can stick in the mind of an audience. Based on OCLC’s research into what activates support for libraries and bolstered by other studies and investigations, ALA has adopted four key messages:

• Libraries transform lives.
• Libraries transform communities.
• Librarians are passionate advocates for lifelong learning.
• Libraries are a smart investment."

Source: State of America's Libraries 2019: School Libraries

The Dangerous End of School Libraries and Public Education
Poverty & Reading: The Sad and Troubling Loss of School Libraries and Real Librarians

The Racism Behind Firing Librarians and Closing School Libraries 

How Students Are Hurt By Replacing School Librarians and Libraries with Computers

There’s No “Science of Reading” Without School Libraries and Librarians, A Predictor of Student Success

How is School Choice “Freedom” When Students Lose School Libraries and Librarians? 

Public Schools and School Libraries: The “Hub” of Democracy During a Crisis, Is Facing Its Own Crisis 

Maker Movements Should NOT Endanger School Libraries, Librarians, and Reading

Created by  Louisiana school librarian Kelsye Baudoin. Check out her graphics on the LASL Resource page. 

From ALA's Advocacy University

I consider these two article to be my "classics" in terms of advice I give to librarians who contact me with "HELP! I think they are cutting my job!"