It's National Library Legislative Day! Tell your Legislators How Important Libraries are to You.

This is the short letter I penned to my federal and state legislators for National Library Legislative day.  Will you join your own letter with mine?

Gentlemen:
As I am sure you are aware today is National Library Legislative Day.  Libraries are important for so many reasons.  They help students and community members of every age and socioeconomic status to stay on the progressive side of the digital divide.  Public libraries educate those who have difficulty paying for education, or help students who are taking online classes and may be nowhere near their official campus.  Libraries often become the hearts of their communities.  They are not just places for a quiet reading corner or storytime for youngsters in the middle of the day.  Often they become the creative voice of that community, and a forum for it's members to become educated about important issues.  They are information centers and teach us how to evaluate, write and learn information, whether they be public, academic or another type of library.  They open our world and let us come in contact with new places, experiences and possibilities.  They help us understand things we thought were beyond our comprehension (in my case, statistics) and bring delight and joy to the community with things like game nights, reading challenges, mystery nights and language and technology classes.  Library doors are open to everyone.  I've seen my library become a central employment center, where patrons can fill out job applications online and get help with studying for certification exams--or simply with composing that very important resume and cover letter.  At library summer reading programs, kids can keep up with the literacy progress they made the year before.  As a reading program volunteer, this is very important to me, as Utah's literacy rate seems to be dropping.  At libraries it is possible to learn skills that will prepare one for a lifetime of learning in this technology driven world.  Sometimes, rural public libraries are the only access available for education beyond the secondary level.  Libraries are "America's great equalizer, providing everyone with the same access to information and opportunities for success."  What could be more supportive of American values than that?





Sincerely,

Laura Faatz

Library Legislative Day

Next week on April 23 and 24, hundreds of library supporters from all across the country will convene in Washington DC for National Library Legislative Day. They will be briefed on legislative issues affecting libraries and will meet with their Members of Congress to discuss them. Even if you can’t make it to DC, you can still advocate for libraries by calling or emailing Congress as part of Virtual Library Legislative Day. All week long (April 23-27), library supporters can let their legislators know just how important our nation’s libraries are to the communities they serve. This is an especially important time to speak up for libraries as Congress continues to make cuts that impact libraries. Here’s how to participate in Virtual Library Legislative Day: Call Congress To call your Members of Congress, view this alert at the Legislative Action Center. Read over the asks and then enter your zip code into the “CALL NOW” box to find phone numbers for your legislators. Email Congress 1.)    Visit the Legislative Action Center home page 2.)    Enter your zip code into the “Find Your Officials” box 3.)    Click on your senator’s or representative’s name 4.)    You will see their bio page appear, click the “Contact” tab 5.)    Select the option to contact your legislator via “Web Form” 6.)    Select "Compose Your Own Letter" 7.)    Use the talking points from the Call Alert or the Issue Briefs to craft your message and send it off! To find a full listing of the issue briefs written specifically for National and Virtual Library Legislative Day, visit the NLLD home page.