NCSLMA - February 2025

Registration is now open for our 2026 Conference: "Finding Joy in Every Chapter!" The conference will be held October 21-23, 2026 at the Concord Convention Center at Embassy Suites. For more details, visit the conference webpage: 2026 Conference.

2026 Registration Rates:

• May 11th - September 23rd (Regular Registration)
• $235 for members
• $235 for out of state Associate members*
• $290 for non-members
• Includes lunch both days
• September 24th - October 22nd (On-site Registration)
• $285 for members
• $285 for out of state Associate members
• $340 for non-members
• Meals not included

These awesome librarians have been selected for the 2026-2028 School Library Advocacy Institute (SLAI)! During their two-year commitment, this cohort will work with advocacy experts, veteran professionals in the field, and school librarians across the state to improve school library media programs for all North Carolina students. We are so excited to work with this group!

We’re currently looking for individuals to represent Region 8 on the High School Battle of the Books committee—and we need your help! Our area is underrepresented, and it’s important that our region has a strong voice at the table.

If you—or someone you know—might be interested, please email Ashley McVey (Region 8 Director) at ashleymcvey@ncslma.org.

Thank you for helping us build stronger, more inclusive representation 💙

Media classes were a big deal this year at SWEGA. Every class in the building researched a different country to learn about global cultures. Students used the Big 6 and the Super 3 research models for their projects. They created a list of questions they wanted to ask about their countries and then researched them. Students used the Clips app to create videos about their countries to share with other students. Students were then asked to create original art pieces to show the answers to their questions. They used several different art mediums to create projects to represent their research findings. We had art representing foods, animals, plants, flags, and other things students learned about while researching. Each art piece included a caption so students and visitors could see what the artwork represented. All of the art pieces were shared with teachers and many were on display at our Multicultural festival this year. Through research, digital presentations, and art students were able to learn so much about other countries and cultures.

Level Cross Media Specialist, Angie Mitchell, has been working with her 1st and 2nd graders to recreate scenes from the wordless picture books: Journey, Quest, and Return. Students created scenes and then programmed Sphereo robots to move through the story.

As school library professionals dedicated to fostering inclusive learning environments and protecting intellectual freedom, the North Carolina School Library Media Association and the North Carolina Library Association strongly oppose the misleadingly titled “Curriculum Honesty, Compliance, and Child Safety (CHCCS) Act,” also known as H1043. This legislation poses a direct threat to the core mission of school libraries by conflating optional, independent reading materials with mandated classroom instruction and by systematically removing representation for diverse student populations.

Our primary concerns regarding this bill include:

• Erasure of Representation. The bill mandates that “instruction on gender identity, sexual activity, or sexuality shall not be included in the curriculum provided in grades kindergarten through fourth grade.” Elementary school libraries do not contain books or materials on any of these topics. Our libraries do contain materials that reflect the diverse lives and family structures that our students experience in their daily lives.

• Misclassification of Library Resources. We find the bill’s definition of curriculum to be an overreach that ignores the optional nature of library resources. The legislation explicitly targets materials “not used as part of the standard course of study” and intended for “independent use” by students. Unlike a required textbook, a library book is a resource a student chooses to explore based on their personal interests and parental guidance. By grouping these self-selected materials under the same restrictive umbrella as the Standard Course of Study, the bill undermines the library's role as a space for voluntary inquiry and discovery.

• Punitive Measures and Mandated Censorship. H1043 creates a climate of fear through severe financial and legal penalties that will inevitably lead to preemptive censorship, as has been seen in other states that have attempted this kind of legislation. H1043 allows parents to seek damages of five thousand dollars ($5,000) per violation. Furthermore, if a library is found to be noncompliant, the school must provide evidence of a “cure,” which specifically includes the removal of electronic, print, or non-print resources from the library. Failure to remove these materials can result in the withholding of state funds from the central office administration allotment. These measures force school districts that are already resource vulnerable to prioritize financial survival over providing a well-rounded and representative collection of information.

• Fiscally Irresponsible. As with H805 and other adverse legislation targeting our schools, bills like this are rushed through and enacted quickly without thoughtful, well-developed guidance for practitioners, resulting in labor-intensive and costly changes to shared library collections and processes. Additionally, the liability this bill places on local school districts is fiscally irresponsible when our state has yet to pass a budget federal funds are being redirected away from public schools, and state allocated school library funding is not protected from local discretionary choices. In places like Idaho where this kind of legislation exists, insurance companies are refusing to insure state entities in the resulting litigation efforts. It is reasonable to assume that if H1043 is passed, our counties, school districts, and local taxpayers would be on the hook financially for inevitable litigation with money we don’t have.

The school library should be a sanctuary for exploration and a resource for all members of the school community. By mandating the removal of resources that reflect the wonderful diversity of North Carolina public school students and their families, this bill restricts access to information and discriminates against the very children it claims to protect. Additionally, this bill would in fact infringe upon parental rights, rather than protect them. What one family prefers their student not to read, another family considers essential. H1043 would remove parents’ right to guide their own children’s reading. We urge the General Assembly to recognize the distinction between mandatory curriculum and optional library resources and to protect the right of every student to find themselves and their family reflected in the books they choose to read.

Town Hall: Thursday, May 21 (7:00 pm)

Coffee on the Coast: Saturday, June 13, Lazy Daisy Book Shop in Jacksonville (9:00 am)

National Boards Candidates' Corner: Tuesday, June 16 (7:00 pm)

Page Turners Book Club: Saturday, June 20 (9:30 am)