WA residents, please
sign our PETITION

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Will school libraries become a part of the
dialog on funding basic education?

Help save school libraries and make 21st century skills a priority.

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Our first design is based on an original photograph by Edwin S. Loyola and matches our website. Thanks Edwin!

Welcome to the home of the WCSLit

Champions for School Libraries and Information Technology

3 Moms sat around a kitchen table this past November, wondering if anything could be done about the fact that school library lights are being turned off, the average date of copyright in Washington school libraries is 1983, and that a two-tiered system of services exists - some children are developing 21st Century information literacy while others are relegated to an antiquated system of check-in and check-out.

Our mission is to communicate the message that Washington voters and industry leaders believe information technology and well-funded libraries are fundamental to 21st century education. The Coalition is working for a future where every public school or small district in Washington State is served by a full-time, certified teacher-librarian who manages a fully-funded library and technology resource collection, giving students from across the state the same access to technology, the same chance for literacy, and the same opportunity to receive a world-class education.

In just four months, this grassroots effort secured $4 million dollars for emergency bridge funding in a supplemental budget year. This money will disappear after one year.

What can you do?
(each one will take less than 5 minutes)

1. Call the Legislative Hotline 1-800-562-6000
Ask the operator to please tell your Senator and two Representatives that you'd like them to sponsor legislation that ensures school libraries are equitably and adequately funded by the state, so that every Washington student is equipped for their role as a citizen and a future competitor in the marketplace of ideas. Legislators are currently planning for the next session. NOW is when they prioritize and gauge constituent interests. Many of them are campaigning; letting them know you care about education funding is critical. On this same call, please request that the Governor include school library funding in the forthcoming budget. Let the Governor know that you consider it a part of “world-class education.” Remember, in the last session funding for school libraries only appeared in the Senate budget; the goal is to be 3 for 3 – Governor, House, and Senate.

2. Call the Governor directly 1-360-902-4111
The number one question we were asked last session was “Are you in the Governor’s budget?” The Governor’s budget comes out in early December – decisions are being made right now. Please take a minute to call and ask the Governor to take on the school library funding crisis and make funding school library programs a priority of government.

3. Help us reach 20,000 petition signatures by January, the start of the legislative session.

Who else believes this is important?

Thousands of Washington citizens and leaders believe that funding school libraries and information technology is not a luxury but a necessity for basic 21st century education. Click here to see who they are.

Internationally known information literacy expert, Dr. Michael Eisenberg, confirms the crucial need for teacher-librarians in all school libraries. Click here to listen to a 3 minute MP3.

A substantial body of research conducted over twenty years shows why funding school libraries is a smart investment.

'I believe keeping an active library and librarian in the public schools is as important as any other primary education role. We must teach our children to do research and explore on their own. What better resource is there than a library and librarian to provide a safe and positive environment for discovery of interests and gifts of knowledge. Our competitive advantage in the United States is clearly our ability to be creative and inventive of new technologies, new business processes, new music, new fashion, new dance, new ways of looking at old things... It is in our culture and we cannot lose this ability. Research and Development is our Thing! Libraries plant and nourish this seed in our children.'

Jon Copeland
CEO - Inland Imaging Business Associates

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