The 2009 Vermont Library Conference will be May 12 & 13, 2009 at the Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center ~ South Burlington, Vermont

Proudly Sponsor the Vermont Library Conference

“Isn’t the Internet going to put public libraries out of business?”

“Why do we need school librarians when we can find everything we need online?”

“Why do we need a campus library when students can do their research on the Internet?”

Library advocates must adapt to a changing and not always sympathetic political and social environment. We need to be able to explain the role of libraries in the 21st century in order to maintain funding, keep certified staff in school libraries, and to be a voice for policy issues ranging from intellectual property to intellectual freedom and protection of privacy. It is our hope that the 2009 Conference will offer programs that give us the tools and knowledge to explain the importance of libraries to our communities, legislators and funding organizations. We would like to build our own strength as advocates, and also help others – boards, friends, principals, administrators, and community members – to become strong advocates for libraries and their staff. We are looking for programming at the 2009 Conference that will help us spread the word that libraries:

• are part of the solution to larger problems such as those related to literacy, workforce productivity, crime;
• have been shown to greatly impact student achievement when staffed with a certified school librarian;
• will greatly impact preparing children to live, work, and govern in the 21st century;
• are cultural and economic assets to democracy, by preserving and promoting our history and culture;
• are an information gateway for all, especially for poor, minority, immigrant and rural populations; libraries serve as centers for education, employment and recreation

Sara Goldstein & Barbara Doyle-Wilch
2009 Vermont Library Conference Co-Chairs