ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline Volume 10, Number 24 March 29, 2001 In this issue: [1] ATTENTION SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA SPECIALISTS AND ALL LIBRARY SUPPORTERS: IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED: The Senate is coming to a close on debate of the campaign financing measure and looking at adjournment for the spring recess from April 7 through April 22. It is possible that one of the first measures to be dealt with upon their return will be the Elementary and Secondary Education Act reauthorization. The legislation could be on the calendar for Senate consideration as early as April 23. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) has worked hard to convince his colleagues to join him in sponsoring S. 237, Improving Literacy Through School Libraries Act. Your help is urgently needed to add more sponsors so that S. 237 can be added to ESEA reauthorization. Next week, before the spring recess, please call your Senators and ask for their support for S. 237, contact the education staff person. Call the Capitol Switchboard at: 202-224-3121. Visit or call their local offices while they are on spring recess. If your Senator is already on the sponsor list, thank them for their support. This will be the last chance on the Senate side to get the legislation included in the overall ESEA reauthorization. Please act now. Following is a list of Democratic and Republican Senators who could be persuaded to sign on to the legislation: Evan Bayh (D-IN) John Breaux (D-LA) Maria Cantwell (D-OR) Jean Carnahan (D-MO) Tom Carper (D-DE) Max Cleland (D-GA) Diane Feinstein (D-CA) Bob Graham (D-FLA) John Kerry (D-MA) Herb Kohl (D-WI) Mary Landrieu (D-LA) Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)(a sponsor of last year's bill) Zell Miller (D-GA) Bill Nelson (D-FL) Ben Nelson (D-NE) Deborah Stabenow (D-MI) Bob Allen (R-VA) Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO) John Ensign (R-NEV) Peter Fitzgerald (R-IL) Charles Grassley (R-IA) Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) Richard Lugar (R-IN) John McCain (R-AZ) Rick Santorum (R-PA) Robert Smith (R-NH) Arlen Specter (R-PA) Ted Stevens (R-AK) Fred Thompson (R-TN) George Voinovich (R-OH) John Warner (R-VA) Talking Points: ? Pre readers, new readers and more proficient readers, in short, all students from K-12 need a wide selection of up-to-date reading material keyed to all levels of reading ability to learn to read well and to continue to enjoy reading. ? Research has shown that student achievement rises in schools with a well-equipped school library media center and a qualified school library media specialist. ? The amount of money being spent by schools on school library materials is inadequate and hardly covers the price of half a book per child. The average cost of picture books runs from $15-18. ? The large increase of student population causes the already inadequate book supply to be less available for students. ? The best way to interest students in careers in science and technology is to provide library materials that are new and appealing, not with copyright dates from 1970. The text of the legislation can be found on www.thomas.loc.gov SUMMARY: S.327, Improving Literacy Through School Libraries Act Bipartisan Legislation Introduced by Senator Jack Reed with the following cosponsors: Senators Cochran, Kennedy, Dodd, Bingaman, Wellstone, Murray, Mikulski, Clinton, Chafee, Rockefeller, Reid, Sarbanes, Baucus, Johnson, Snowe and Daschle Would restore critical funding for school libraries and increase student access to the most up-to-date library materials. Funding would be directed to schools with the greatest need and could be used to: ? acquire up-to-date school library media resources, including books, for the use of students, school library media specialists, and teachers; ? acquire and utilize advanced technology, incorporated into the curriculum, to develop and enhance the information literacy, information retrieval, and critical thinking skills of students; ? acquire and utilize advanced technology, including Internet links, to facilitate resource-sharing among schools and school library media centers, and public and academic libraries, where possible; ? provide professional development opportunities for school library media specialists; and ? foster increased collaboration between school library media specialists and elementary and secondary teachers and administrators. Authorization: $475 million Would establish the School Library Access Program to provide students with access to school libraries during non-school hours, including before and after school, weekends, and summers. Priority is provided to local educational agencies that: ? seek to provide activities that will increase reading skills and student achievement; ? have coordinated services and funding with other non-school hour activities for students; and ? have a high level of community support Authorization: $25 million This bill is supported by the American Library Association and the Association of American Publishers. For more information, please call Elyse Wasch or Michael Yudin in Senator Reed's office at 224-4642 ****** ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. To subscribe to ALAWON, send the message: subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc@ala.org or go to http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. To unsubscribe to ALAWON, send the message: unsubscribe ala-wo to listproc@ala.org. ALAWON archives at http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. ALA Washington Office, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Suite 403, Washington, D.C. 20004-1701; phone: 202.628.8410 or 800.941.8478 toll-free; fax: 202.628.8419; e-mail: alawash@alawash.org; Web site: http://www.ala.org/washoff. Executive Director: Emily Sheketoff. Office of Government Relations: Lynne Bradley, Director; Mary Costabile, Peter Kaplan, Miriam Nisbet and Claudette Tennant. Office for Information Technology Policy: Rick Weingarten, Director; Jennifer Hendrix, Carrie Russell and Saundra Shirley. ALAWON Editor: Bernadette Murphy.