1984 NCTE Annual Business Meeting in Detroit, Michigan

Background

Adequate funding for book purchases and equal access to books for all students were the principal concerns of NCTE members who passed this resolution. Underlying this action is a conviction, supported by education research, that access to a wide variety of books is vital to the development of literacy in all students. Be it therefore

Resolution

Resolved, that the National Council of Teachers of English reaffirm its belief that ease of access to books is essential at every level to achieve excellence in education;

that NCTE affirm its support for the standards established by the American Library Association for school libraries;

that NCTE endorse the recommendation of the Secretary of Education that schools increase threefold their expenditures for library books, texts, and other instructional media; and

that NCTE urge governors, chief state school officers, state legislators, and, where appropriate, local governmental agencies to commit resources to increase the number of books and other reading materials and to make them accessible to all learners, especially preschool children in low socioeconomic areas.

This position statement may be printed, copied, and disseminated without permission from NCTE.