Friday, September 16, 2011

Activist Alert!

AMERICAN JOBS ACT Provides Funding
for Education and School Libraries
YOUR Support Is Needed

Please call both of your U.S. senators and your congressional representative at the capitol switchboard, 202.224.3121, and urge them to support the American Jobs Act. 

Less than a week after President Obama called on Congress to pass a new jobs creation bill, Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) introduced the American Jobs Act (AJA) of 2011 (S. 1549).

This Senate version of the jobs bill includes $30 billion for K-12 education to retain or rehire educators including school librarians to prevent the layoffs of up to 280,000 educators including many school librarians.  Since school librarians across the country are losing their jobs due to budget cuts, it is critically important that as much of this money as possible be used to save their jobs.

The AJA also includes an additional $25 billion to maintain and upgrade K-12 schools including school libraries to meet their 21st century demands and $5 billion for community colleges including their libraries.  

Please contact your elected officials TODAY and let them know what school libraries do in your community and how obtaining funds for construction through the AJA could improve the education of our students.

To see a chart outlining the estimated jobs impact by state, click here.

For more information about how you can support literacy and libraries, please visit the NCBLA's "Become an Activist" page.