Dear Irene,

On Jan. 4, 2011, I posted a petition on the White House website requesting support and recognition by including school library programs in the  reauthorization of the Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) expected this year.

We now have until Feb. 4, 2011, to get 25,000 signatures in order for the petition to reach the Obama administration.  This is where I need your help:  If every AASL member can convince just 5 people to sign the petition, we would achieve well over 40,000 signatures! I want to challenge you to find those 5 people and get them to sign!

We need more than the school library community to sign.  Teachers, parents, students, community members, and family friends are all encouraged to sign the petition.  Anyone over the age of 13 is qualified to sign.  This is a perfect opportunity to spread the word about school libraries by asking them to sign the petition.

We can’t wait or assume someone else is going to do this for us.  We have to take action for our programs and for the needs of our students.  This petition will help raise awareness to the White House that our country values school library programs.

The link to the petition is here: http://aasl.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9011bdd5ff860316c0afae3f0&id=f34677add3&e=21097f48b3

You will need to create an account in order to sign the petition.  After you have signed, then please begin to share it with others.  Post it online, on blogs, on Twitter, and Facebook.  Please use all your communication methods to help get the word out.

Thank you for your support of the petition!

Sincerely,

Carl A Harvey II
AASL President 2011-2012