Volunteer to support literacy with St. Kate's MLIS at the State Fair!

The St. Kate's ALA Student Chapter is proud to announce a new opportunity to promote the MLIS program to the community, and we need your help! Current and future students, alumni, faculty members, and friends of the program are all welcome!

St. Kate's MLIS Day at the Alphabet Forest

Minnesota State Fair

Thursday, August 23, 2012 (opening day)

Sign up for a shift and get free admission to the fair: http://tinyurl.com/stkate-forest-signup

Here's some info about the Alphabet Forest: "Step inside the Alphabet Forest and discover alphabet activities for all ages.  Take pictures with Fair Letters, create alphabet Ferris wheels, add your fair words to the Fair Dictionary and more!  Guests can meet a different author each day in the Alphabet Forest at the Minnesota’s Homegrown Author Showcase." Read more on their website: http://www.mnstatefair.org/entertainment/fair_alphabet.html

Here's what volunteers should expect:

"Each volunteer checks in fifteen minutes before their scheduled time slot at the Alphabet Forest cabin on the SE corner of Baldwin Family Park, across from the 4H main doors. Each volunteer slips on a red apron and a name tag and stores their belongings in the cabin. Volunteer jobs include helping at the craft tent, the sidewalk welcoming area, the photo booth, Win-A-Word spinning wheel, or awarding ribbons for vocabulary lists. (Assignments are based on what we need at the time.)"

In addition, we are asking everyone to wear an MLIS or St. Kate t-shirt, and we will be making ALASC buttons for members to pin on their aprons.

We're hoping that this event will help get our name out there and show the community how much our school cares about literacy. If you have any questions or would like to help promote the event (even if you can't attend in person), please let me know. Thanks in advance for your help!

Contact Your Legislator re Legacy Funds!

From Elaine Keefe, lobbyist for MLA/MEMO:

As you may have seen in media reports, legislators are considering raiding the Legacy Amendment's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund to pay for a new stadium for the Vikings. 

This is certainly not what the voters were told this money would be used for when they passed the Legacy Amendment in 2008.  

Raiding the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund for a stadium will reduce the funding available for arts and cultural programs throughout Minnesota, including those offered by libraries. 

Please call or e-mail your legislators and tell them that you oppose using Arts Fund money for a stadium. 

Minnesota Citizens for the Arts has an excellent tool on their website for constructing a letter to your legislator using your choice of talking points.  The link is below:

 

http://www.capwiz.com/artsusa/mn/issues/alert/?alertid=12568891&type=ST&show_alert=1

MLA/MEMO Library Legislative Forum

Free for MLA/MEMO members including food! $25 for anyone else (but I think the student MLA annual fee is $25, so you might as well join).

I'm already registered and would be happy to give anyone else a ride.

Library Legislative Forum
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
9:30am-3:00pm
St. Cloud, MN
"A forum to discuss what happened in 2011 and what should happen in 2012"

Tweet Your US Senator to Support Teen Services

May 10th is National Library Legislative Day (NLLD) and it only takes a minute of your time to make a difference! All you need is Internet access and a Twitter account.

1. Make sure you’re logged into your Twitter account
2. Visit YALSA's Google map of US Senators at http://tinyurl.com/NLLDmap
3. Click on the push pin in your state
4. Click on the “Tweet Me” link
5. Click on the “Tweet” button (the text of the message has already been created & appears in the text box)
6. Encourage others to do this by forwarding the link of the map to them, adding the link to your Facebook page, blog or web site, etc.

To learn more about NLLD, please visit www.ala.org/nlld.  To learn more about other ways can advocate for library services to teens specifically, visit http://tinyurl.com/YAadvocate.  Thank you for all that you do to ensure teens have access to great library services and resources and thank you to YALSA’s Legislation Committee for creating this advocacy tool!

Legislative Update

From Elaine Keefe, lobbyist for MLA and MEMO:

Tomorrow legislators return from their Passover/Easter break.  The May 23 adjournment deadline is just 4 weeks from today, and much work is left to be done.  Hearing schedules are jam packed this week because the first deadline for policy bills to pass out of committee is this Friday, April 29. 

Legacy:  The House Legacy Funding Division will meet on both Tuesday and Wednesday this week to consider amendments to the Arts and Cultural Heritage article of the omnibus Legacy bill.  A final vote on the bill will be held on Wednesday.

The Senate Environment Committee will hear SF 1040, our bill requesting $5 million per year over the next two years from the Arts and Cultural Heritage fund for regional public libraries, on Tuesday afternoon.  There are 34 bills on the agenda, so our testimony will necessarily be brief.

Maintenance of Effort (MOE):  On Wednesday the House Governmental Operations Committee will hear two mandate relief bills authored by Rep. Steve Drazkowski (R - Mazeppa).  Both HF 7 and HF 519 repeal library MOE and the minmum level of local support as well as many other requirements on local governments, including pay equity.   HF 519 also repeals the requirement that law library fees paid by plaintiffs and defendents be used to support the county law library.  I plan to testify against both bills. 

Governor's Workforce Development Council (GWDC):  HF 844, our bill requiring the Governor to appoint a public library advisor to the GWDC, will be heard in the House Jobs and Economic Development Finance Committee on Thursday, April 28.  Kit Hadley of the St. Paul Public Library will testify. 

"Let Your State Officials Know How Important Libraries Are to You!"

A message from the ALA:

April 10–16 is “National Library Week.” This year’s theme is “Create your own story @ your library.” It’s a perfect opportunity for you to let your legislators know how important libraries are to you, telling your story about how important your library is to you, and the difference your library makes in your community. Libraries need your voice!

Libraries continue to be busier than ever helping families survive during these tough economic times, yet public libraries, school libraries, and academic libraries are facing closures and elimination of librarians and library workers—the people who help those with a job application, teach 21st-century skills, and nurture the love of reading in kids that will serve them the rest of their lives.

State governments provide much needed funding for libraries to provide public access to the Internet to everyone, critical databases for individuals and small businesses, and homework help.

Please send an e-mail to your governor and your representatives today, and pass this message on to your friends and colleagues.

Thank you for advocating for libraries and library staff.

Sincerely,
Michael Dowling
Director, Chapter Relations Office
American Library Association

PLA Online Seminar on Library Advocacy

The Public Library Association (division of ALA) is offering "Turning the Page 2.0," a free 6-week online course supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The description from the website:

In this six-week, facilitated online course, library staff and supporters will learn how to create and tell their library's story, deliver effective presentations, develop a compelling case for support, and build and sustain partnerships along the way.

 Anyone can participate; one of the sessions mostly takes place in August, when we don't have classes. I might actually try to register for it--but even if you don't want to let your overachiever freak flag fly and do the same, this is a great example of the kind of professional development opportunities you have to look forward to after graduation!