It's Thursday and I'm at the Seattle Westin serving as a "booth buddy" for WLMA. WLMA has a booth at the Washington State School Directors Association Conference exhibit hall to get the good word out to school board members and district leaders about the teacher-librarians in the state. I've talked with folks from Naselle, Battle Ground, Elma, Mukilteo, Easton, Blaine, Moses Lake, and other exotic Washington locales. It was interesting to ask board members about their libraries.
My general impression was that board members really cared about their students and schools. They were willing to learn. Some board members were proud of the fact that they had certificated teacher-librarians at each of their schools (some didn't know how their libraries were staffed!). Many expressed that having teacher-librarians was a function of having money. This told me 3 things: 1) Library programs are not seen as "vital," 2) We need to educate board members about the value of libraries and why they are essential, and 3) we also need to work with other groups that are focusing on school funding.
This was a wonderful opportunity and I'd encourage other WLMA members to serve as "booth buddies" at other conferences. Thanks to Jennifer Maydole for organizing the booth, and to Joanna who spent the day with me.
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