Georgia Council of Media Organizations (COMO) 2009 Roundup

This past week I presented and attended the Georgia Council of Media Organizations (COMO) 2009 in Columbus, Georgia.  Here are some sessions that I either attended that I’d like to recommend:

The highlight of the conference for me was having the opportunity to network with old and new colleagues. While I do enjoy learning new content at conferences, I also value the opportunity to have conversations with my peers. I was thrilled to meet virtual library friends Bobbi Newman and Brian Hulsey; our conversations between sessions, at dinner, and at lunch, along with librarian Andrew Shuping, were incredibly energizing, enlightening, and encouraging.  I also enjoyed the opportunity to have dinner with friends and colleagues Dr. Judith Repman and Dr. Stephanie Jones along with fellow LMS Diane Griffin; other GSU faculty and Diane’s husband joined us as well for an evening of good conversation and delicious Italian food!

If you are interested in either of my presentations, please visit my new blog presentations page for links to my resource pages.  You can also view my CoverItLive blog notes of Steven J. Bell’s keynote speech by visiting this page.

Filed under: Conference News, Georgia Library News , COMO, COMO 2009

GLA Legislative Center to Oppose HB 278

Many thanks to GLMA President and friend Susan Grigsby for sharing this information with me;  let your voice be heard!

If you believe in the value of school libraries in Georgia you need to Take
Action Now!<http://capwiz.com/ala/ga/utr/1/OVEGKBXVJX/IFYRKBZBQV/3072016891>

Georgia House Bill 278, now being reviewed by the Senate Education and Youth
Committee, will decimate funding for school libraries and media centers
across Georgia by rolling dedicated funding for school libraries into
general operating budgets of school systems.

Georgia House Bill 278 is summarized as follows: “[T]o be entitled an Act to
amend Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to the “Quality Basic Education Act,” so as to
temporarily waive certain expenditure controls relating to funds earned for
direct instructional costs, media center costs, staff and professional
development costs, and additional days of instruction; to provide for
automatic repeal; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting
laws; and for other purposes.”

What this means for Georgia school libraries:

- This dedicated funding has already dropped from $19.54 in 2003 per
student FTE to $15 FTE for elementary and $13 for middle and high schools.
- These dedicated funds have already been diverted in many cases and will
disappear entirely if HB 278 passes, leaving school libraries with no
budgets.
- Library orders have already been cancelled in mid-process as systems
take back dedicated funds already delivered since HB 278 has language making
it retroactive to July 2008.
- Kids who read and learn 21st century literacy skills succeed. School
libraries make it happen.
- Studies from across the country show that funded and staffed school
libraries improve students test scores.

Please contact your Senator immediately to urge the defeat of this bill!

We hope you will be able to take a few minutes to respond, and to forward
this alert to your friends, to have them let their representatives know the
value of school libraries.

Thanks for being receptive to receiving these messages, and for your help!

Sincerely,

Susan Grigsby
President
Georgia Library Media Association

Jim Cooper
President
Georgia Library Association

Filed under: Challenges, Georgia Library News, Issues, Legislation, SLM Issues , funding, Georgia school libraries, HB 278, Legislation, school libraries, school library funding

Support Georgia’s School Libraries: Say NO to HB 278

Used Under a Creative Common License: http://www.flickr.com/photos/adobemac/294078052/

Right now a little piece of legislation known as HB 278 ( http://www.legis.ga.gov/legis/2009_10/sum/hb278.htm )  threatens the health  of Georgia’s school libraries.  Why is HB 278 potentially detrimental?  The GLMA page provides a succinct explanation:

“Expenditure Controls and Funding for Georgia’s School Libraries”

Our main legislative issue for 2009 is expenditure controls. Governor Perdue is proposing legislation that would temporarily waive media center expenditure controls until June 30, 2010. This legislation would mean that school systems could redirect any unspent library media money for this school year as well as state funding for school libraries until fiscal year 2010 to other areas leaving school libraries with reduced or little funding. GLMA opposes this legislation and asks school librarians and parents to contact their legislators to explain how this legislation would hurt school libraries and students’ access to library books and technology.

From Governor Sonny Perdue:

“In January 2009, I will introduce as part of my legislative package temporary waivers of the expenditure controls found in OCGA §§ 20-2-167 (site-based direct instruction, media center, and staff development controls) and 20-2-184.1 (additional days of instruction controls). The legislation would make the waivers effective July 1, 2008 and would continue in force until June 30, 2010.”

Please look at the following listing of House and Senate Appropriations Education Subcommittee members. We need everyone to email the following committee members. If you live in their district, PLEASE let them know that you are their constituent and oppose this legislation. Provide a brief, but polite email giving an example of why library funding is important to your students (tell your library story).

The House Appropriations Education Subcommittee members are as follows:

Rep. Edward Lindsey (R), Chair – Atlanta; edward.lindsey@house.ga.gov
Rep. Terry England (R), Secretary – Auburn; englandhomeport2@alltel.net
Rep. Amos Amerson (R) – Dahlonega; amos.amerson@house.ga.gov
Rep. Amy Carter (D) – Valdosta; amy.carter@house.ga.gov
Rep. David Casas (R) – Lilburn; david.casas@house.ga.gov
Rep. Mike Keown (R) – Coolidge; mkfnbc@rose.net
Rep. Jan Jones (R) – Alpharetta; jan.jones@house.ga.gov
Rep. Howard Maxwell (R) – Dallas; howard.maxwell@house.ga.gov
Rep. Jay Neal (R) – LaFayette; P 404.656.0152 jay.neal@house.ga.gov
Rep. DuBose Porter (D) – Dublin; P 404.656.5058; F 404-656-0114 dubose.porter@house.ga.gov

The Senate Appropriations Education Subcommittee members are as follows:

Sen. Dan Moody (R), Chair – Alpharetta; dan.moody@senate.ga.gov
Sen. Horacena Tate (D), Vice Chair – Atlanta; horacena.tate@senate.ga.gov
Sen. John Bulloch (R) – Ochlocknee; john.bulloch@senate.ga.gov
Sen. Jack Murphy (R) – Cumming; jack.murphy@senate.ga.gov
Sen. Tommie Williams (R), Senate President Pro Tempore – Lyons; tommie@tommiewilliams.com

Contact these committee members (it is now in the Senate) and your own reps (go to http://sos.georgia.gov/misc/districts.htm )  to let them know you support funding for Georgia’s school libraries and that you oppose HB 278.

I also encourage you to read GLMA President Susan Grigsby’s speech to our legislators:  http://glma.wordpress.com/2009/03/12/presidents-message-march/ .   She does a terrific job outlining our current situation and why school libraries matter (not that you don’t already know!).

Thank you,
Buffy Hamilton
Teacher-Librarian
The Unquiet Library

Filed under: Georgia Library News, Issues, Legislation , funding, Georgia, Georgia school libraries, HB 278, House Bill 278, school libraries

My Letter to Representative Coleman

Dear Representative Coleman: 

I would like to respectfully request that you include media specialists in the proposed HB 157 legislation that would allow certain groups of educators to return to full time employment and collect full retirement benefits under certain conditions. 

Quite frankly, I am shocked we would be excluded from this legislation.  Information literacy is no longer an “optional” aspect of a child’s education; it is imperative that today’s students acquire and hone these skills in order to be prepared for post-secondary education and today’s workforce.   More importantly, one must have information literacy in order to effectively participate in our democratic society. 

What do media specialists do?  I assure you we do more than “check out books”!  I arrive before most teachers do, and I am usually one of the last to leave.  I do not get a planning period or a fixed lunch; most days I am lucky to eat while I work at my computer at the circulation desk or between classes that we are teaching.   Whether I am teaching a group of ninth graders how to access information through a research database, helping an individual child master a technology skill, or collaborating with our teachers to develop lessons that we will deliver together to our students, I *TEACH* all day long, every day.  In fact, I was voted “Teacher of the Month” in September of 2006 at my school and was a finalist for Teacher of the Year this year.  I tied for 2nd place for the 2006 Golden Apple Teacher Award  in my school, an award voted on by teachers.  Many media specialists in our state have been recognized as “Teacher of the Year” in their schools and their districts!

This legislation implies that we are not “worthy” of the same benefits as classroom teachers.  I can assure you that I work just as hard, if not harder, as a high school media specialist than I did as a classroom secondary English teacher (and that was pretty darn hard!).  We as media specialists teach just as classroom teachers do and work with many learners day in and day out in our libraries.  I might also add that you have to have at least a master’s degree to even *BE* a media specialist—this is not a requirement for classroom teachers!  In fact, I have a M.Ed. and Ed.S. that I earned in person from the University of Georgia, the only School Library Media program in Georgia to earn AASL accreditation.  

Qualified and talented media specialists are more important than ever in this age where information literacy is a requirement, not an option!  We are at the heart of learning in Georgia’s schools.   There are numerous research studies that show media specialists and effective school library media programs are correlated to increased student achievement.  Here are some resources that have just a sampling of the evidence of how we impact achievement:

• http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslproftools/resourceguides/studentachievement.cfm 
• http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin178.shtml
• http://www.teacherlibrarian.com/tltoolkit/what_works/works_v31_1.html
• http://www.ala.org/ala/aaslbucket/AASLNCLBbrochureweb.pdf

I believe my fellow faculty and administration would attest to how vital I am to my school as the media specialist.  If you want to see what I do, I invite you to visit:

• The website I maintain for our media program:  http://webtech.cherokee.k12.ga.us/creekview-hs/mediacenter
• Our library blog:  http://theunquietlibrary.wordpress.com
• My Media 21 blog at http://buffyhamiltonmedia21.wordpress.com  —our district provides specialized technology training for us just as they do classroom teachers in Teach 21.  In fact, I am actually an instructor of technology classes for classroom teachers in our district!

I will only be 51 when I am eligible to retire—this legislation would be an incentive for me to extend my career as a K-12 educator and would enable me to afford to work in a rural district where qualified school library media specialists are always in demand.   

I am a leader, a shaker, and a mover in my school who is passionate about teaching and learning as a media specialist.    We as media specialists are always on the leading edge of new innovations in education and teaching strategies. I urge you to please include school library media specialists in this legislation so that children in Georgia can not only have access to highly qualified classroom teachers who may come out of retirement, but also to highly qualified school library media specialists as well. 

Thank you for listening to my concerns and considering my request.

Respectfully,

Buffy J. Hamilton, Ed.S.
Creekview High School
1550 Owens Store Road
Canton, GA  30115
770-720-7600, x. 253

buffy.hamilton@cherokee.k12.ga.us
http://webtech.cherokee.k12.ga.us/creekview-hs/mediacenter
http://webtech.cherokee.k12.ga.us/creekview-hs/buffyhamilton 

Filed under: Georgia Library News, Issues, Legislation , Georgia, HB 157, Legislation, school library media specialists, we the people

GLMA Announces 2008 Legislative Position Statement

The Georgia Library Media Association has announced its legislative priorities in its 2008 GLMA Legislative Position Statement.  The priorities include:

Restoration of Funding
GLMA supports restoration of specifically dedicated funding to $19.54 per FTE for library media center books and materials in Georgia’s public schools. We ask the legislature to honor the promise made in 2002 that cuts to library media center funding be temporary and to completely restore school library funding.Expenditure Controls
Reestablishment of the expenditure controls for all media center allotments at the school level according to FTE would ensure students have the materials they need.

Continuation of QBE Funding Formula for Support Staff
Restoration by the State Board of Education of the QBE funded and defined classified library media center support staff position (library clerk or library paraprofessional) under Required Personnel in all base-size schools is essential for every media center.

GALILEO
The GALILEO project should be enhanced in the State FY2008 budget for K-12 GALILEO Databases.

Filed under: Georgia Library News , funding, GLMA, legislative agenda, position statements