Advocacy for school libraries: the experience of a Brazilian city

Abstract

With the enactment of Law No. 12,244/2010, which universalizes libraries in educational institutions, society longed for every school to have, finally, a library: however, with a deadline for implementation expiring in 2020, the public authorities have not complied with the legislation and, unfortunately, more than half of the schools in Brazil still do not have a library so that, among numerous advantages, students become more aware citizens through reading and research. In Jardinópolis, a city in the interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, since 2017 a group has worked a lot to comply with this legislation: with the legislative and municipal executive branch was formed the Jardinópolis Libraries Commission that acts in advocacy for school libraries. This experience report presents the challenges for the implementation of the legislation, describing the performance of the Commission in this short period (2017-2019) to achieve significant results: participation in a public hearing in the Education Commission of the House of Representatives; holding a conference with a specialist; checking the locations for libraries in schools; renovation and adaptation of libraries; acquisition of furniture, equipment, books and program for library management; inclusion of the position of librarian in public competitions; and hiring a librarian to organize libraries. By 2020 it is expected that the other libraries will be structured (built and/or renovated, with furniture, equipment and collection) and with librarians - so that they are living, active and fundamental libraries in the training of readers, researchers and citizens - and that the Municipal Plan for Books, Reading, Literature and Libraries will be prepared for approval by the City Council and continuity of execution in other administrations. This report hopes to show that, in fact, advocacy is to act planned and strategically to achieve results.