Barack Obama Stands Up for Libraries

Obama's kenote speech at the Opening General Session at the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago, June 23-29, 2005. Read whole speech here.

50 "Reading is the Gateway Skill that makes all other learning possible"

50 "Whether it's software design or computer engineering or financial analysis, corporations can locate these jobs anywhere in the world, anywhere that there's an internet connection. As countries like China and India continue to modernize their economies and educate their children longer and better, the competition American workers face will grow more intense, the necessary skills more demanding. These new jobs are not simply about working hard, they're about what you know and how fast you can learn what you don't know. They require innovative thinking, detailed comprehension, and superior communication."

51 "It's not enough just to recognize the words on the page anymore. The kind of literacy necessary for the 21st century requires detailed understanding and complex comprehension. And, yet, every year we pass more children through schools or watch as more drop out. These are kids who will pore through the help-wanted section and cross off job after job that requires skills they don't have.... We have to change our whole mindset as a nation. We're living in the 21st century knowlege economy; but our schools, our homes, and our culture are still based around 20th century and some cases 19th-century expectations."

52 "What if instead of a toy in every Happy Meal there was a book?"