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 

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.

Contribute Your Photos, Past and Present, To Virtual Georgia

Here is a great initiative from the Georgia Archives if you haven’t heard about it yet—I am posting the original press release.  March 1 is the deadline to contribute; visit the Virtual Georgia for more detailed information! 

The Georgia Archives, a division of the Office of Secretary of State, has created a way for Georgians to help preserve the history of the state through a program called Virtual Georgia. Georgians, or anyone with photographs related to Georgia, may nominate pictures to be included in the archives permanent collection. Pictures are nominated by being uploaded to the Virtual Georgia website. The program is slated to last through March 1, 2008.

According to Secretary of State Karen Handel, Virtual Georgia is based on an earlier archives program called Vanishing Georgia. Between 1975 and 1986, archivists from the Georgia Archives traveled throughout the state and copied historically significant photographs held by individuals who wanted to share them with future generations. During the program, Vanishing Georgia preserved nearly 18,000 photographs. Now, said Secretary Handel, we want to use modern technology to accomplish the same thing.

The archives is looking for photographs that show Georgians in everyday life, said David Carmicheal, director of the Georgia Archives. We want images of family and business life, street scenes, architecture, agriculture, school and civic activities, important individuals and events in Georgia history, and even landscapes. In particular, we urge Georgia’s emerging ethnic communities to nominate images of their ceremonies and activities for inclusion in the archives.

Nominations can be uploaded using a simple form at www.GeorgiaArchives.org (click on “Virtual Georgia” in the margin). Archives staff will review all the uploaded images and select the ones that are most representative of Georgia’s varied culture and activities. Those will be added to the archives permanent collection.

Karen Handel was sworn in as Secretary of State in January 2007. The Secretary of State’s office offers important services to our business community, our government, and our citizens. These services include an efficient and secure election process, and the regulation of corporations, securities, and professional license holders. The Office also controls the state archives and the Capitol museum.

Virtual Georgia Contribution page

Virtual Georgia Collection Page, available in Virtual Vault

Are libraries still needed?

Although this blog focuses on whether or not Sandy Springs needs a new library, issues related to the general relevance (real or perceived) of libraries in communities are discussed here.  Take a look at what people are saying by visiting this AJC Blog!  The authors mentions many “things” that he can get to without a library, but he does not seem familiar with the services a good librarian can provide.

Exciting News: Library Media Unit Moves to Department of Standards, Instruction, and Assessment!

Exciting news today from Dr. Judy Serritella, Coordinator of Library Media Services for the state of Georgia!

****Effective immediately, the Library Media Unit of the Georgia Department of Education has moved to the Department of Standards, Instruction, and Assessment (SIA) and will be a part of the Curriculum and Instructional Services Division. Thirteen years ago (before the lottery), Library Media was a part of the Curriculum Division and we are now back in that division.

 

Judy Serritella

Coordinator of Library Media

Curriculum and Instructional Services

Georgia Department of Education

205 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive SE

1754 Twin Towers East

Atlanta, Georgia 30334