When I think about local advocacy, I think about Susan Polos, a school librarian for the Bedford Central School District in New York. I am always impressed by her hard work and dedication and particularly her campaign last year to save librarian positions in her school district. I asked Susan several questions about her advocacy experiences.<\/p>\n
Can you give us an overview of your advocacy initiative? <\/strong><\/p>\n I am always engaged in advocacy for elementary school librarian positions, which in NY State are unmandated and continually at risk. For many years I have pushed back against possible cuts, but last year our district faced an unexpected almost nine million dollar deficit, and I went into high gear. The target audience was the community, the time frame was a matter of weeks, and the goal was to preserve the elementary library program in our district. We learned that the administration was proposing a cut of 2.9 elementary librarians. Parent leaders reached out to me; these parents and their children wrote letters to the Board of Education (BOE). Community members spoke at BOE meetings and\u00a0 wrote letters to the local paper. Our union held a rally featuring signs specific to librarians. This was covered on local TV news. Our state library association sent out a call for letters to the BOE. I did meet with legislators (the town supervisor and the state senator) but their influence was not a deciding factor. Ultimately, the BOE voted (4-3) not to cut any librarians. However, this budget required a 60% passing vote under the law for an override of the tax cap. And the vote came in at 58.9%. We had little time to rally again when the administration proposed the next budget, which cut 4.9 librarians. There was no opportunity to protest this, and that budget passed.<\/p>\n What has been the most effective tool in your advocacy work?<\/strong><\/p>\n An advocacy tool has been using the voices of authors and illustrators. An author, Nora Raleigh Baskin, had written a book, Ruby on the Outside<\/em>, about the child of an incarcerated parent who, although fictitious, attended school in our district. Baskin visited the elementary school where I was librarian to discuss the book with students. Afterwards, when she learned that the librarian position was at risk, she wrote a powerful advocacy piece which was picked up by School Library Journal. Soon after this, my mock Newbery group skyped with Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, and she wrote a blog piece about the students and our program that communicated its value. Jarrett J. Krosoczka visited our school and wrote a heartfelt letter of advocacy to the Interim Superintendent. The essay, post and letter were pushed out on social media and helped provide a sense of what we have offered students through the eyes of artists which clearly showed what would be lost.<\/p>\n What is the greatest obstacle in your advocacy work?<\/strong><\/p>\n The greatest obstacle to advocacy work with elementary programs is that the students are so young that they can’t attend board meetings and don’t even know what is at stake unless their parents talk to them about it. As a teacher librarian, I continue to teach through the day and work on advocacy after school; I do not share budget worries with children. Thus, when the program is cut, these students do not understand what has happened. In many cases, they think the librarian simply has left. Another obstacle is lack of representation at meetings where budget cuts are determined. It seems that all departments other than librarians have representation at such meetings. Naturally, if there is no representation, no one to argue for librarians – or the children they serve – it is easier to make a cut.<\/p>\n What are some tips and techniques you would recommend for library staff who want to replicate or adapt your advocacy initiative?<\/strong><\/p>\n The ideal situation is to have a group of community members formed and ready to advocate. I’m working on it! We do have people who care and who will speak out. Those who advocated last year are ready to step up again. I think the most important thing is to just keep hope alive.<\/p>\n What’s next in your advocacy work?<\/strong><\/p>\n I’m hoping that not having elementary librarians has been such a clear loss to students this year that there will be sufficient support to bring back elementary librarians next year. Next up is to ensure that this is done in the best way to serve students. It’s a balance to work hard and still preserve the energy and time necessary to advocate. As I advocate for librarians in general, I also focus on the specific needs of the students in this district and cite what is lost. I’m working with our state library association in an Everyday Advocacy Task Force established by New York Library Association president Barbara Stripling, and all that I learn from that, I bring back to the local work which is always in the front of my mind.<\/p>\n ************************************************************************************************<\/p>\n