[insert your address]
                                                                                                                [insert date]

Governor George E. Pataki
State Capitol
Albany, New York 12224

Dear Governor Pataki,

I am the Library Media Specialist at the [Your School Name Here] School. It is critical that you fund New York State's libraries and library systems at the current level, and I am writing to ask that you do that in the budget that you are working on now. We need to make sure that New York continues to provide students, citizens, and businesses with access to the information they need, and training in how to find and use that information. It is an economic necessity that we do this.

The [Your School Name Here] School Library serves [800] students in grades [K-12] and [45] teachers, administrators and staff. We are the only library that many of our students have access to. I am striving to make sure that my students learn the information skills that they will need to become productive citizens when they graduate. My library's membership in the [Your SLS Name Here] School Library System gives me access to the online databases our students need to compete; because of the [Your SLS Name Here] SLS I can obtain the books that students and teachers need for their assignments and instruction.

It is important that each child in New York have an equal opportunity for a quality education and libraries and library systems are an important part of giving them that opportunity. Currently New York's library community is united in support of the New Century Libraries proposal. Once fully enacted, this plan will ensure the survival of at risk School Library Systems. Funding for School Library Systems is crucial because they are an important engine driving the educational equity which the State is charged to provide for all its young people and their schools.

There is no other resource offered by New York State that reaches more people in more ways than libraries do. It is critical that you maintain current levels of funding for these libraries. In addition to that maintenance I strongly urge that you begin implementation of the New Century Libraries proposal by increasing library funding in your Executive Budget.

Sincerely,

Jane Doe, Library Media Specialist