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// Note: If you would like further information about your legislator/state school board member please email Sam Whitaker at ‎[sswhitaker@wowway.com]‎. He can help with some information you might use when talking to your visitor. Also, mention in conversation the many ways you assist staff and students, especially with professional development, whether it be with individual staff members or the entire staff. //

// Please add comments about the visit on the "Comments" page of this wiki. Send any photos to Kate: kate@assnoffices.com. //

// Finally, remember we want our visitors to see all kinds of libraries, big, small, crowded, open...whatever! It's not about the library, it's about the STUDENTS! //

**The OELMA Advocacy and OELMA Executive Board need YOU to help start a series of legislator and school board member visits at Ohio school libraries. All the information needed for the visit is on the OELMA Advocates wiki at** **http://oelmaadvocates.wikispaces.com****. Complete instructions are on the page titled "Visit Toolkit". The home page of this wiki provides information about the representation of both groups (state board and legislators) in each region. Please do the best you can to schedule visits and get our school librarians motivated about this initative. There is no better way to tell about what we do than for someone to SEE what we do. This is VERY important. Please start working on our visit initiative ASAP. Realizing that we are coming up to spring break, just be thinking about which librarians you will ask and then immediately ask (!) once spring break is over! Let's go, let's show 'em ALL what an effective tool for learning and student achievement the school library "knowledge place" can be!**
 * Dear Regional Director:**

**Go school librarians...go OELMA!!!**

[|Ohio State Board of Education]
Click on the link above to find a list of board members along with their pictures and the counties they preside over. Scroll halfway down the page to where it says **Our Members** and select the **Board Member and District Directory** link.

[|Ohio Legislators]
Contact **your** Ohio senator and representative at the link above using your [|9 digit zip code.]

Updated list of Ohio legislators, including House and Senate member names, district number, email address, business address, phone number and the year their term ends.


 * OELMA Advocates - Campaign to Raise Awareness**

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//__**School Library Visits**__// **-** The OELMA Advocacy committee is working to set-up visits to school libraries by legislators and state school board members. The committee will use this wiki to communicate with one another, as well as, with OELMA members. The school library visits are intended to be a proactive way for us to communicate to our legislators and state school board members the important educational role of the school library.=====

The committee consists of the following members:

Sue Subel - Co-chair sue.subel@kenstonlocal.org Kathy Fredrick - Co-chair fredrick_k@shaker.org

As we embark on this project the committee will divide the job of getting ready for the visits as follows:

Kathy - Create a spreadsheet that follows a timeline for regional visits. The spreadsheet would include the following: library identified/library participation confirmed/invitation sent to legislator or school board member/follow-up call made to legislator or SB member/visit date set/confirmation sent/visit completed/photos and comments sent. This spread sheet could also be added to wiki so that we can all see the progress we are making on this important initiative.

Sue - Finalize toolkit to use for the school visits. This will include directions for regional directors to use when contacting exemplary libraries, template of letter to send legislator/school board member, guidelines for visit, types of activities, talking points and post-visit activities.

Goal: We really need to get this completed by the end of the year. We can do it. We must do it!