California librarian Seanean Shanahan hopes to collect more than 25,000 signatures on a petition urging President Barack Obama to protect libraries in federally funded schools.
The petition has already raised more than 8,000 signatures on We the People, the White House’s new platform for petitions. According to the terms of participation, the White House will respond to any petition that can raise 25,000 signatures in 30 days.
Here’s an excerpt from the petition: “Any school receiving Federal funds should be required to have a credentialed School Librarian on staff full time with a library that contains a minimum of 18 books per student. Failure to have a school library open to all students and/or failure to have a credentialed School Librarian to run that library should be punishable by a immediate withdrawal of all Federal monies … All children have the right to read and to have access to materials that will help them grow as learners and as people. No Library = No Freedom to Learn.” (Via School Library Journal)