Last week I took two field trips away from the office (three, counting A Wrinkle in Time). Tuesday, March 6th, was Library Legislative Day at the Massachusetts State House in downtown Boston (across from the old, old Horn Book office on Beacon Hill; and look at it this week during the #NationalSchoolWalkout protest!). I went to Library Legislative Day with my children's school librarian, Liz Phipps Soeiro, legislative co-chair of the Massachusetts School Library Association. There was a lot to take away from the day, but to talk numbers, I learned that library funding is a mere 0.06% of the state budget, and that already-meager budget for libraries has been pretty steadily (and dramatically) falling throughout this century.

School librarian Judy Paradis presented the The Massachusetts School Library Study: Equity and Access for Students in the Commonwealth, a multiyear academic study examining school library access throughout the state. To make a long story short: "school library programs for students are NOT equitable in Massachusetts." Next on the schedule was "Visit Your Legislators," and Liz and I met with State Representative Marjorie Decker and shared our stories about the importance of libraries (she gets it). Follow hashtag #MAlibleg18 for more — and contact your own reps with your own tales from the library.

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On Saturday, March 10th, I attended the first annual Boston Network for Black Student Achievement conference, organized by the Literacy Subcommittee to further the Books for Black Children & Youth initiative: "Literacy Is Liberation: Examining the Transformative Power of Literacy, Book Clubs & Literary Societies in the African American Community" held at the John D. O'Bryant Institute at Northeastern University. Friend of The Horn Book Dr. Kim Parker presented a workshop on "African American Literature for Black Boys: PreK–12" (she also led a 2017 Horn Book at Simmons breakout session on the topic). Friend of The Horn Book Monique Harris, with Nicholl Montgomery, talked about "Developing Family Book Clubs: From the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday to Women's History Month" (as my own child can attest, snacks are key!). Simmons College next-door neighbor and colleague in the Africana Studies department Dr. Theresa Perry discussed "Enslavement in African American Children's Literature: From Oppression to Resistance and Resiliency." Civil rights activist Robert Moses (!) and Maisha Moses; Dr. Nettrice Gaskins; Shirley Jones Luke; and Dr. Jarvis Givens rounded out the talks; Leonard Egerton from the Frugal Bookstore was there selling books — and the much-anticipated "Recommended African American Children's Books" poster, compiled by Friend of The Horn Book and frequent contributor Dr. Jonda McNair (see upcoming May/June Horn Book Magazine article with Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop on the Brownies' Book). Every workshop was packed with people — adults and very engaged young adults — eager to dig into the theme "Literacy Is Liberation." Search the hashtag #LitIsLib2018 for more — there's a great photo gallery by Larry Aaronson over on Facebook that really captured the day.