by Ann Kaste
Quick Summary
The ITEM Summer meeting was a celebration of legislative success, with per-pupil school library media funding and funding to the multicounty, multitype library systems to create the foundations for increased licensed library media specialists across Minnesota. The group also looked to the future to establish goals for the next round of legislative requests, and to continue to support strong and vibrant school libraries and School Library Media Specialists across Minnesota.
The ITEM leadership team and members of ITEM from all across Minnesota , in person and on Google Meet, met this week at Metronet's offices in St. Paul. Senator Mary Kunesh, Chair of the Education Finance Committee in the Minnesota State Senate and former Media Specialist, joined the group for the day-long event, sharing in the camaraderie and enthusiasm of her SLMS colleagues. The group is grateful to Metronet for hosting the happy gathering, and to Senator Kunesh for sponsoring the successful school library legislative funding, and for attending this celebration of the year's wins - and planning time for a strong future.
Senator Kunesh answered the group's questions about the details of the school library funding disbursements, and encouraged them to continue to think big about the possibilities for strengthening the role of school libraries and school library media specialists in Minnesota. One big takeaway from the day was that all who love libraries need to take the lead on sharing the importance of school libraries in our communities. The group discussed how all library friends must remind school administrators, school boards, and communities that the school library is where many children first encounter the joy of reading, the tools for research, and the skills of information literacy. School libraries are the heart and soul of the school, the safe place where intellectual curiosity can be fostered and intellectual freedom can be protected. All of us in the library community can advocate for the school library and licensed school library media specialists who, among other skills, can thoughtfully purchase books, develop policies to guide the process when intellectual freedom questions arise, and take the lead on teaching students how to evaluate information.
Congratulations to ITEM on a successful year, and we look forward to an exciting future! To learn more about ITEM membership and goals, visit their site on the Minnesota Library Association's online platform.
