First Lady promotes school libraries at White House conference

摘要

"Laura Bush had the basis for being a good librarian: She was a good teacher first," said Steve Wisely at the White House Conference on School Libraries June 4. The Medford, Oregon, school superintendent was one of eight speakers selected by the White House to attest to the positive impact of good school libraries on student performance. The First Lady delivered opening and closing remarks to the group, which also included her mother-in-law, former First Lady Barbara Bush; Senators Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), and Jack Reed (D-R.I.); and Rep. Ralph Regula (R-Ohio). She announced that the Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries, which she established last year (AL, Sept. 2001, p. 16), had raised more than $5 million, including $3 million from the Hilda H. Yao family. Yao is the executive director of the Claire Giannini Fund.