Advocacy Archives | American Libraries Magazine

Subcommittee Calls for Library Funding Increases

By Kevin Maher | September 14, 2018

Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS): $2 million increase Title IV-Part A of the Every Student Succeeds Act: $70 million increase National Library of Medicine: $13 million increase Career and technical education state grants: $70 million increase Adult education state grants: $25 million increase Head Start: $200 million increase Level funding was provided for … Continue reading Subcommittee Calls for Library Funding Increases →

Advocating Before the Election

By David Shumaker | August 20, 2018

But what would it look like to reach out to the would-be political decision makers before the election? I tried an experiment to find out. My home state of Maryland had a very competitive open primary for county and state government on June 26. I emailed candidates for several county offices to ask their views … Continue reading Advocating Before the Election →

Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn., left) reads to a group of children at Great River Regional Library in St. Cloud with LuAnne Chandler, patron services associate. Photo: Abby Faulkner

August Is Peak Season for Advocacy

By Kathi Kromer | August 3, 2018

Invite your representative to your library to see in person how your library is meeting the needs of your community. The value of your library’s services may be crystal clear to you and the families, students, researchers, and other patrons you serve, but your elected leaders may not understand the value of your services unless … Continue reading August Is Peak Season for Advocacy →

Libraries = Strong Communities

By Loida Garcia-Febo | July 18, 2018

Change takes commitment, courage, and effort. By collaborating, we can take action to ensure that libraries receive the support needed to continue serving communities at academic, public, school, special, and all other types of libraries. The voices of our big ALA team of more than 58,000 members and advocates from across the globe make us … Continue reading Libraries = Strong Communities →

Dewey Decibel Podcast: Becoming a Library Advocate

June 8, 2018

In Episode 26, American Libraries Associate Editor and Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart speaks with four Policy Corps members—Lisa Varga, executive director of the Virginia Library Association; Qiana Johnson, collection and organizational data analysis librarian at Northwestern University Libraries in Evanston, Illinois; Larry Neal, director of Clinton–Macomb (Mich.) Public Library, who is the ALA Policy … Continue reading Dewey Decibel Podcast: Becoming a Library Advocate →

From left: Skip Dye, Corporate Committee on Library Investment and vice president of library marketing and digital sales, Penguin Random House; and the Iowa library delegation: Alison Ames Galstad, director, Coralville Public Library; State Librarian Michael Scott; Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa); Nancy Medema, library program director, State Library of Iowa; Michael Wright, director, Dubuque County Library District; Annah Hackett, campus engagement and instruction librarian, Grand View University; and Rebecca Funke, director of library resources, Des Moines Area Community College.

Library Supporters Gear Up for “Year-Round Advocacy”

By Shawnda Hines | May 11, 2018

In addition to the participants in Washington, D.C, hundreds of library supporters also registered to participate virtually by connecting with legislators via phone calls, emails, and social media this week. In opening remarks on May 7, ALA President Jim Neal introduced a recurrent theme throughout the livestreamed event: “The thing about advocacy is that it’s … Continue reading Library Supporters Gear Up for “Year-Round Advocacy” →

Finding Advocacy Allies

By Kelly Miller and Lisa R. Varga | May 4, 2018

In 2015, we—Virginia Beach City Public Schools Library Services Coordinator and Virginia Association of School Librarians (VAASL) Executive Board Member Kelly Miller and Virginia Library Association (VLA) Executive Director Lisa R. Varga—met at a state social function. A few months later, the Virginia General Assembly introduced legislation threatening intellectual freedom. We decided to coordinate our … Continue reading Finding Advocacy Allies →

Hope, Power, Action

By Jim Neal | May 1, 2018

The current and prospectively annual battles over funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and Innovative Approaches to Literacy have dominated our advocacy work. We have sustained and even expanded funding for IMLS in FY2018, but we are already pushing for support for FY2019 appropriations. At the same time, other important aspects … Continue reading Hope, Power, Action →

Spending Bill Includes Big Increases for Libraries

March 23, 2018

“We are thrilled that Congress has passed an FY2018 omnibus spending bill today that includes significant federal funding increases for our nation’s libraries! “One year ago, the White House proposed eliminating the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and slashed millions of dollars in federal funding for libraries. Twelve months and tireless advocacy efforts … Continue reading Spending Bill Includes Big Increases for Libraries →

Marrakesh Treaty Closer to Reality

By Carrie Russell | March 15, 2018

If the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act is passed and signed by the president, the bill will greatly increase access for English speakers with print disabilities, especially in developing countries, where less than 1% of all published print content is accessible. The US will benefit as well by being able to obtain foreign-language content, especially for … Continue reading Marrakesh Treaty Closer to Reality →

ALA and AASL Release Joint Statement on Florida Senate Bill 7026

March 8, 2018

“ALA and AASL support the efforts of Florida Association for Media in Education (FAME) and Florida Library Association to provide safe and accessible learning spaces for students and learners of all ages,” stated Neal and Yates. “School librarians work with classroom teachers to provide instruction integral to the curriculum and offer additional informal learning opportunities for students. School … Continue reading ALA and AASL Release Joint Statement on Florida Senate Bill 7026 →

Next Steps to Fund Libraries

By Kevin Maher | March 7, 2018

The following excerpt originally appeared March 6 on District Dispatch, the blog of the American Library Association’s Washington Office. Read the full post at District Dispatch. The White House budget proposal for FY2019 recommends the elimination of most federal library funding. Though the budget proposal is concerning, Congress has the final say over the budget. Starting today, two … Continue reading Next Steps to Fund Libraries →

Latest Library Links

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Here are some statistics to celebrate the most frequently banned and challenged books during Banned Books Week, September 23–29. 100,000 was the number of copies of Angie Thomas’s young adult novel, The Hate U Give, that were printed in its first month. The Coretta Scott King Book Awards honoree, about a teenager who witnesses a police shooting, was challenged in July by a South Carolina Fraternal Order of Police chapter for “indoctrination of distrust of police.”

American Libraries feature, Sept./Oct
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Up to $1,000 and the opportunity to be published in Short Story Dispensers nationwide will be at stake for writers of all levels, thanks to a new writing contest launching September 25. PLA, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and Short Édition are teaming up for the first time to encourage writers of all ages and backgrounds to submit an entry. The theme of this year’s contest is courage. The submission deadline is October 30. Full contest details are available online.

ALA Communications and Marketing Office, Sept. 25
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Honorary Book Club Central Chair Sarah Jessica Parker has selected Wayétu Moore’s She Would Be King (Graywolf Press) as her latest pick for ALA’s Book Club Central. The novel reimagines the story of Liberia’s early years through three unforgettable characters, intermingling history and magical realism. Moore is the founder of One Moore Book and teaches at the City University of New York’s John Jay College.

ALA Communications and Marketing Office, Sept. 25
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Cara Giaimo writes: “On January 29, 1908, the crew of the Nimrod landed at Antarctica’s McMurdo Sound. Led by Ernest Shackleton, the explorers would spend the next two years ranging over the continent. Although they never achieved their chief objective of reaching the geographic South Pole, they did bring the first motorcar to Antarctica and climb Mount Erebus for the first time. They also wrote, illustrated, and printed a book, Aurora Australis, the first one ever made on that continent.”

Atlas Obscura, Sept. 24
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Eni Mustafaraj writes: “Recently, Mike Caulfield wrote a Twitter thread and blog post praising Facebook’s new information panel for news publishers. In the meantime, Emma Lurie and I are exploring what knowledge panels can tell us about the credibility of online sources, especially of the ones recognized as partisan or inaccurate. Two findings: Not all snippets are equally informative or address factual accuracy; and snippets are sometimes edited to send certain signals to different audiences.”

Medium, Sept. 23
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Betty Lupinacci writes: “The Library of Congress’s ‘Baseball Americana’ exhibit gives me something new to think about each time I visit. Most intriguing to me are the numerous times women are depicted in the exhibit. For example, the song ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame’ tells the story of a woman who wants her date to take her to the game instead of a movie or Coney Island (depending on the version). The song is reportedly based on a woman by the name of Trixie Friganza, a vaudeville performer and suffragette.”

In Custodia Legis, Sept. 25
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The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing September 26 called “Examining Safeguards for Consumer Privacy.” But the committee invited only executives from AT&T, Amazon, Apple, Charter, Google, and Twitter to “review the current state of consumer data privacy” and “discuss possible approaches to safeguarding privacy more effectively.” The failure to invite even one public-interest group to counter industry talking points at this kick-off hearing on consumer-privacy proposals is disturbing.

Free Press, Sept. 24

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