American Libraries

Crowd Chanting: One, two, three, support your libraries. One, two, three, support your libraries. One, two, three, support your libraries. One, two, three, support your library.

Raul M. Grijalva: This is a really sad commentary when you realize that every study that you read verifies the positive correlation between the comprehensive, fully-functioning, well-resourced, fully-staffed school library, and the rate of achievement for the children in that school. I want to thank all the proponents, ALA, and I have an in-house lobby: my fine son-in-law and his librarian, my daughter's a librarian, my wife's a librarian.

Jack Reid: We are here unveil the Strengthening Kids' Interest Learning and Library, the SKILLs Act. The SKILLs Act reauthorizes and strengths the proving literacy for school libraries under the No Child Left Behind Act. The basic premise of what we're doing here is based on simple fact that school libraries are a critical component of a child's education. In fact one would argue, at least I would, that if you can teach a child to use a library and develop in that child a love of that library, you pretty much educated that child because thirty or forty years from now, they can find a library and they can find the answers. The SKILLs Act underscores the value, particularly of school libraries by encouraging the hiring and retention of highly qualified school library media specialists in our nation's school libraries. Thank you all for being here on a very hot, humid, sticky, typical Washington day. Next year we'll do this in April. You know we'll be around, you'll be walking around The Mall. At least you're here today. We're going to work very hard, my colleagues in the House to get this legislation passed. Thanks in particular to Cleveland. Who drove all the way out from Cleveland in the bus?

Andrew Venable: We did. (Applause) I think we're real, real proud to have this Bookmobile, People's University on Wheels, which makes it very convenient and timely and applicable for everyone in our community. It goes in the neighborhoods. Six percent of the visits are to a senior service centers. It's connected to our main library system and automation system, it is technology for people, and so we feel it's a great additional library service to our communities. And the Bookmobile in an urban area is needed because it provides stability, it provides connection, it connects to people, it comes out of the buildings. People are so used being inside buildings, but it comes out the buildings to go where the people are.

Janine Langston: We submitted a proposal highlighting our motto: “Observing the Past, Exploring the Future.” So we're here to share how Birmingham is doing that through technology. People seem to be drawn, especially to the children's services because they can relate to the programming that we've got going on with animals in the library, with story times, visiting authors.

Tom Clareson: One of the main topics we're talking about today is the Heritage Health Index, which is a survey that we did in 2005/2006, trying to assess the state of America's collection. Do they have policies for disaster preparedness? Do they have environmental controls in their building, fire safety, that type of thing? And as you might know, some of the institutions we're taking a look and sort of found wanting as far as these policies. So we've been trying to get information about how to build your own disaster plan, what to do in the first forty-eight hours after a disaster happens.

Xavier Bacerra: With three little girls you know there's nothing more valuable than having them read. So the more you read, the more they'll read. Now I've got three avid I had readers. I've got one young girl—fourteen years of age—who devours a book in a day and she's ready for the next one. To me, that's the way they learn. They're going to be great citizens because they learned how to pick up a book an enjoy themselves.

Ciro D. Rodriguez: One of the biggest reasons for anyone to be successful is how much that person reads. And if we can give any advice to any person it is to read and read and read some more.