Thank you to all who came out to support our Library Advocacy Day press event in April at the Rhode Island State House Library, in celebration of School Library Month and National Library Week!

We are so grateful for the strong support of invited speakers Senator Hanna Gallo (District 27), sponsor of S2078, and Representative Rebecca Kislak (District 4), sponsor of H7417. These two bills were introduced in the General Assembly this year, and if passed, would direct the commissioner of elementary and secondary education to ensure that every public school has a school library in a permanent and dedicated space. The bills would also direct the commissioner to ensure that every public school has a certified school librarian to manage and maintain the library.

Opening remarks for the press event were provided by Benjamin Hanley, President of the Rhode Island Library Association. Additional featured speaker was Tasha White, School Librarian at Alfred Lima Elementary School in Providence, and the 2025 RI School Librarian of the Year. Ms. White was accompanied by several Lima Elementary students who serve as Library Stewards or members of the Lima News Crew.

Our sincere appreciation goes to Kate Wells, State Librarian, as well as representatives from the Office of Library and Information Services (OLIS), AskRI (Rhode Island’s Online Resource Center), URI’s Graduate School of Library and Information Studies, RILA, SLRI, and volunteer school librarians, all of whom staffed informative resource tables during the event.

Lima Elementary’s Library Stewards and News Crew students capped off their visit to the Library Advocacy Day event with a visit to the General Assembly. The RI Senate and House each introduced resolutions for School Library Month, and several school librarians and members of SLRI were honored in each chamber. Two additional resolutions were introduced in the House and Senate recognizing National Library Week, and several RI public librarians were honored in each chamber.