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Download PDF of press release "STATEWIDE PETITION LAUNCH IN SUPPORT OF SCHOOL LIBRARIES
AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

STATEWIDE PETITION LAUNCH IN SUPPORT OF SCHOOL LIBRARIES
AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Supporters Will Gather in Mesa to Demonstrate Need for School Libraries
Statewide

MESA, Az. (April 21, 2008) - A statewide petition to provide Arizona citizens a forum to voice their
support of school library programs will launch on Tuesday (April 22). The authors of the petition, who are in the process of forming a statewide coalition to advocate for school libraries and information technology,
hope to reverse the trend of school district governing boards eliminating or significantly reducing school library media services as part of district cost-saving measures.

The petition will launch at a rally at 6 p.m. prior to the Mesa Public Schools Governing Board meeting at 549 N. Stapley Dr. Mesa Public Schools, Arizona's largest school district serving 74,000 students, recently announced a three-year plan to eliminate all school librarian positions as part of a cost-savings measure.

“Arizona's school districts are reducing quality school library programs at an alarming rate, and are not meeting the education needs of today’s information age,” says petition author Ann Ewbank. “This is not just a school issue, but an issue of economics and future workforce competence.”

The U.S. Commission on Libraries and Information Science summarizes what decades of research have shown in state after state:

Students in schools with good school libraries learn more, get better grades, and score higher on standardized test scores than their peers in schools without libraries.
School libraries have an important role in teaching. Certified teacher librarians are working with teachers to change what is possible in the classroom and support learning opportunities with books, computer
resources and more.
School libraries are leading the way for technology use in schools.
School libraries inspire literacy.
School libraries need to be staffed by a certified teacher librarian in order to have a positive impact on student academic achievement.
(http://www.nclis.gov)

To access an extensive list of research, please see http://www.lrs.org/impact.php

School districts around the state and around the country have been reducing library services in order to balance their budgets. Districts across Arizona have faced a variety of library program cuts, including elimination of teacher librarian positions, reductions to part-time, replacement of certified teacher librarians with aides, and in some cases, districts have foregone replacement of retiring teacher librarians.

"Despite the fact that as parents we have experienced our school libraries weakened, and our children's potential for information literacy diminished, we remain optimistic that the state of Arizona will seize the opportunity and become a national leader in this regard by ensuring that teacher librarians, library programs, and technology training are no longer at risk,” says Ewbank.

According to petition authors, Arizona has a great shot at achieving what Governor Janet Napolitano calls “a quality, modern education system” if Arizona policymakers produce recommendations that are both visionary and sustainable. Petition signers are specific and concrete about one recommendation -- make sure that our school library and technology programs don't have the doors closed and computers shut down.

To access the petition, please go to http://gopetition.com/online/18626.html