“Lilead Fellows, EveryLibrary Share Out ESSA Strategies | ALA Midwinter 2017”
2015-2016 Lilead Fellow Priscille Dando reviews the Lilead Project’s first community meeting before ALA Midwinter 2017. John Chrastka of EveryLibrary joined the team to “lead the audience of Lilead Fellows, corporate partners, and other stakeholders through a strategic approach to activism, addressing the opportunity that the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides for school library programs at the state level.”
Dando, Priscille (2017). Lilead Fellows, EveryLibrary Share Out ESSA Strategies | ALA Midwinter 2017. School Library Journal. Retrieved from http://www.slj.com/2017/02/legislation/lilead-fellows-everylibrary-share-out-essa-strategies-ala-midwinter-2017/#_.
“Ann Carlson Weeks, Jeffrey DiScala, & Christie Kodama | Movers & Shakers 2016 – Educators”
Library Journal names Ann Carlson Weeks, Jeffrey DiScala, and Christie Kodama of the Lilead Project as 2016 Movers & Shakers. They join several colleagues to represent “unsung individuals in the field who deliver exemplary service every day as they usher in the library of the future.”
Library Journal (2016). Ann Carlson Weeks, Jeffrey DiScala, & Christie Kodama | Movers & Shakers 2016 – Educators. Library Journal. Retrieved from http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2016/03/people/movers-shakers-2016/ann-carlson-weeks-jeffrey-discala-christie-kodama-movers-shakers-2016-educators/#_.
“How to Communicate Effectively with District or Building Administrators: Are you the MacGyver in your district?”
“School librarians are used to wearing many hats. We easily morph between our roles as a teacher, information specialist, instructional partner and program administrator. Advocacy has always been and always will be an integral part of what all school librarians must do so that stakeholders understand our value. But how do your administrators really view you as an advocate? Do they actually request to meet with you or do they avoid you like the plague and turn deaf ears when you are talking?”
Cathi Fuhrman (2015). How to Communicate Effectively with District or Building Administrators: Are you the MacGyver in your district? School Library Advocacy. Retrieved from http://www.schoollibraryadvocacy.org/sladvocacy-blog/how-to-communicate-effectively-with-district-or-building-administrators-are-you-the-macgyver-in-your-school-district-by-cathi-fuhrman.
“Lead Brave: Buoyed by the Alliance of the Lilead Fellows” by Rebecca Miller
Editorial Director of School Library Journal and Library Journal Rebecca Miller writes about the “innovation, bold leadership, and… communal strength” of the Lilead Fellows as the program continues to be a positive influence in the field.
Rebecca Miller (2015). Lead Brave: Buoyed by the Alliance of the Lilead Fellows. School Library Journal. Retrieved from http://www.slj.com/2015/12/opinion/editorial/lead-brave-buoyed-by-the-alliance-of-the-lilead-fellows-editorial/.
“Inside the Lilead Fellows Program” by Fellow Stephanie Ham
Stephanie Ham, a self-proclaimed “proud Lilead Fellow,” reflects on the Lilead Fellows program and their recent meeting in Columbus, OH. She states, “As a librarian and Lilead Fellow, I have never been more excited to fight for change because I know that I have a large support group standing behind me.”
Stephanie Ham (2015). Inside the Lilead Fellows Program. School Library Journal. Retrieved from http://www.slj.com/2015/11/industry-news/inside-the-lilead-fellows-program/
“Post-AASL, Inspired Brainstorming at a Lilead Project Think Tank” by Fellow Priscille Dando
Lilead Fellow Priscille Dando speaks of the emerging trends among school district library supervisors, and the strategies developed by the Fellows during the Post-AASL meeting in Columbus to create outcomes in their districts.
Priscille Dando (2015). Post-AASL, Inspired Brainstorming at a Lilead Project Think Tank. School Library Journal. Retrieved from http://www.slj.com/2015/11/legislation/post-aasl-inspired-brainstorming-at-a-lilead-project-think-tank/
40% of surveyed school district library supervisors reported cuts in district funding from the previous year
Research results from the Lilead Project showcase the first national effort to study school district library supervisors since the 1960s. Funded by IMLS and deployed by the University of Maryland College of Information Studies, the Lilead Project collected data via a national survey (which they intend to repeat) for a baseline for future research and established a professional development network and Fellows Program for those who coordinate a school district’s library program.
Library Research Service (2014, December 10). 40% of surveyed school district library supervisors reported cuts in district funding from the previous year. Retrieved October 06, 2016, from https://www.lrs.org/2014/12/10/40-surveyed-school-district-library-supervisors-reported-cuts-district-funding/.
District Library Supervisors Under Duress: The Lilead Project Survey Results
More than five years after the start of the Great Recession, school libraries in the US are in crisis, their budgets constricted and their staff short-handed or nonexistent. Professional staff positions are left vacant or filled by uncertified personnel, materials budgets slashed. Many library programs have been eliminated. Most of these actions are taken at the administrative level, outside the control of both library supervisors and building-level school librarians.
Often, the only person who can speak out against such actions at the district level is the library supervisor. Yet just as other government managers are trying to cope during a weak recovery, these district supervisors are expected to do a lot more with a lot less and are forced to pick up most of the slack themselves. So says a new study, the first national survey of district school library supervisors conducted in more than half a century.
Traska, Maria R. (2014, November 17), District Library Supervisors Under Duress: The Lilead Project Survey Results. American Libraries Magazine. Retrieved from http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2014/11/17/district-library-supervisors-under-duress/.
The Lilead Project