CITY COUNCIL SUPPORT OF S.428/H.4207: AN ACT RELATIVE TO SCHOOL LIBRARIES

POR 2026-49 FIRST IN COUNCIL March 2, 2026 City of Cambridge COUNCILLOR MCGOVERN COUNCILLOR SOBRINHO-WHEELER COUNCILLOR NOLAN COUNCILLOR AL-ZUBI COUNCILLOR FLAHERTY WHEREAS: Information literacy is a vital skill for all K-12 students in the 21st century and schools have a responsibility to equip students with the tools to successfully navigate an increasingly complex digital information landscape and critically evaluate the reliability of different information sources; and WHEREAS: School libraries play an important role in educating young people about how to find, evaluate, and use information responsibly and information literacy is necessary for students to become effective researchers, critical thinkers, discerning media consumers, and good citizens; and WHEREAS: Representative Angelo Puppolo and Senator Jacob Oliveira have sponsored a bill, An Act relative to school library standards (Bill S.428, Bill H.4207), to require the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to adopt the most recent edition of academic standards for school library media programs developed by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and endorsed by the Massachusetts School Library Association (MSLA); and WHEREAS: The bill defines an effective school library program as one that employs certified school librarians and maintains a grade-appropriate collection that supports independent reading and inquiry, teaches information literacy and research skills for students from kindergarten to grade 12, improves reading proficiency, and integrates learning technologies across the program of study; and WHEREAS: The bill requires no funding but requires DESE to conduct a study every three years beginning the third year after enactment of the school library standards and the study will examine the employment of school librarians, types of school library programs offered, best practices, and recommended improvements to school library programs; now therefore be it RESOLVED: That the Cambridge City Council go on record in support of S.428 and H.4208 and urge the Massachusetts Legislature to pass and for the governor to sign it without delay; and be it further RESOLVED: That the City Clerk be and hereby is requested to forward a suitably engrossed copy

of this order to the Cambridge state legislative delegation on behalf of the entire City Council. In City Council March 2, 2026. Adopted as Amended by Affirmative Vote of Nine Members:- Attest:- Paula M. Crane, Interim City Clerk A true copy; ATTEST:- Paula M. Crane Interim City Clerk Click or tap here to enter text.