Advocacy Archives | Page 44 of 46 | American Libraries Magazine

Roberta Stevens of the Library of Congress Inaugurated 2010-2011 ALA President

June 29, 2010

Friends, family, and colleagues, including new division presidents, helped Roberta Stevens of the Library of Congress celebrate her inauguration as 2010–2011 president of the American Library Association. Instead of a traditional presidential speech, Stevens turned the podium over to four of her favorite authors: Marie Arana, Brad Meltzer, Sharon Draper, and Carmen Agra Deedy. Calling … Continue reading Roberta Stevens of the Library of Congress Inaugurated 2010-2011 ALA President →

Grassroots 2.0: Tips from the Advocacy Experts

June 27, 2010

The joint ALSC/AASL program “Grassroots 2.0: New Technologies” program on Sunday morning brought together three experts on delivering effective library messages to legislators. Curtis R. Rogers of the South Carolina State Library presented a slideshow of social media resources that librarians can use to promote the library and engage lawmakers. Libraries should all have an electronic newsletter, … Continue reading Grassroots 2.0: Tips from the Advocacy Experts →

Secrets of the John Cotton Dana Winners

June 25, 2010

The Library Leadership and Management Association (LLAMA) sponsored a panel Saturday morning on outstanding community-centered marketing campaigns. “John Cotton Dana Winners Tell All!” brought together experts from libraries that won the LLAMA John Cotton Dana Award to share their secrets about successful library PR and advocacy campaigns. Toni Tucker, assistant to the dean of Illinois … Continue reading Secrets of the John Cotton Dana Winners →

Advancing Advocacy

By Roberta A. Stevens | June 23, 2010

During my travels as president-elect, I often spoke about the challenges and opportunities of becoming 21st-century libraries that incorporate new formats, technologies, and ways of learning. By transforming libraries for this new era, we are leaders in a rapidly changing and increasingly global economy that depends on people getting the right information, at the right … Continue reading Advancing Advocacy →

Unquiet Library Has High-Schoolers Geeked

By Brian Mathews | June 21, 2010

The students are skeptical when the librarian says, “I want everyone to take out their cell phones and check to see if you can get reception in the library.” The young scholars hesitantly pull out their mobile devices unsure of what to make of this request. “Your assignment is to charge up your phones for … Continue reading Unquiet Library Has High-Schoolers Geeked →

Take a Bow, Monroe County, Indiana

June 3, 2010

Almost two months ago, students at the Templeton Elementary School in Bloomington, Indiana, performed a play that they and their parents had written, The Case of the Missing Librarian, as an expression of the loss they felt over their beloved librarian, Laura Hall, being reassigned to a classroom at the end of the school year. … Continue reading Take a Bow, Monroe County, Indiana →

Library Snapshot Day

June 1, 2010

"Snapshot Days are spreading like wildfire!” exclaims Marci Merola, director of ALA’s Office for Library Advocacy. “You know you have a great idea when in just a matter of months and with a minimal push from ALA half the country gets involved. Since the launch of the National Snapshot Day idea at the 2010 Midwinter … Continue reading Library Snapshot Day →

Wisconsin Says “Cheese!”

By Pat Eschmann | June 1, 2010

“Wisconsin Libraries Say Cheese! A Day in Pictures” is part of the ongoing Campaign for Wisconsin Libraries, a statewide effort to create a collective voice for Wisconsin academic, public, school, and special libraries. The campaign focuses on developing and communicating effective messages about the importance of all types of library service in Wisconsin. Inspired by … Continue reading Wisconsin Says “Cheese!” →

Frontline Advocacy Is Everybody’s Job

By Patty Wong and Julie Todaro | May 25, 2010

“What makes this initiative different from previous advocacy initiatives is that it engages and empowers frontline library staff to work on advocacy at a different level than how library administrators, trustees, friends, and grassroots users operate,” says Alire. “The traditional focus has been on how to interact with elected officials and decision makers. Frontline advocacy … Continue reading Frontline Advocacy Is Everybody’s Job →

A Library in Your Pocket

By Meredith Farkas | May 13, 2010

In Vermont, it was easy to ignore the mobile computing craze until 2009. Before that, AT&T didn’t have a presence here, so we couldn’t purchase iPhones in the state. That all changed last year, and now, barely a day goes by that I don’t see someone checking e-mail, texting, or browsing the web on their … Continue reading A Library in Your Pocket →

Winning the Budget Wars

May 6, 2010

Library publications and blogs are filled with two types of articles these days: horror stories and fantasies. First, the horror stories. These are the news reports of budget cuts, most of which are in fact quite horrible. Academic Library X is getting its budget cut by 30%; School District Y is firing all of its … Continue reading Winning the Budget Wars →

Will Social Media Activism Rescue Besieged Libraries?

By Cindi Trainor | April 20, 2010

Library workers and supporters nationwide are turning to social media to spread the word about proposed funding cuts and recruit advocates. Despite what looks to be a very bleak FY2011, social media blitzes to stave off cuts for the current fiscal year may have laid some groundwork toward influencing budgetmakers. In March, the Charlotte (N.C.) … Continue reading Will Social Media Activism Rescue Besieged Libraries? →

Latest Library Links

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Emanuel Maiberg writes: “AI bots that scrape the internet for training data are hammering the servers of libraries, archives, museums, and galleries, and are in some cases knocking their collections offline, according to a new survey from the GLAM-E Lab. The survey is the first attempt at measuring the problem, which in the worst cases can make valuable, public resources unavailable to humans because the servers they’re hosted on are being swamped by bots scraping the internet for AI training data.” The University of North Carolina Libraries in Chapel Hill recently shared its experience with AI bots attempting to scrape its catalog.

404 Media, June 17; GLAM-E Lab, June 17; University of North Carolina Libraries, June 9
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Mark Samuels writes: “Becoming a successful manager is far from straightforward. Leading people requires a series of crucial characteristics, and research suggests one of the most important is positivity. A Harvard Business Review survey found that team members felt more highly respected when leaders expressed positivity during the early stages of a project. So how can leaders develop the right tone and be seen by their staff as positive leaders? Five business leaders give their top tips.”

ZDNET, June 13; Harvard Business Review, Apr. 25
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Adrienne De Luna writes: “Among Us is a multiplayer online game where players work together on a spaceship to complete tasks while trying to identify imposters, who attempt to secretly sabotage the mission and eliminate players. Crewmates must use communication and deduction to vote out suspected imposters, while imposters try to deceive the group and avoid detection.” De Luna shares how Whiting (Ind.) Public Library launched a popular after-hours, real-life Among Us program.

Programming Librarian, June 12
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Noah Biesiada writes: “Huntington Beach (Calif.) voters weighed in on the future of their city’s library June 10, [repealing an approved-but-never-created] book review committee and blocking city leaders from selling the library or privatizing its operations. City Council members have been loudly calling for residents to vote no on both initiatives for months. But library volunteers and residents came out in force at city council meetings, calling for city leaders to keep their hands off the shelves and leave book selection to librarians.

Voice of OC, June 10; American Libraries Online, Apr. 4
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Hannah Weinberg writes: “Since our last report, libraries have continued to experience significant upheaval from President Trump’s actions. In May, the Trump administration fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden and Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter. We also saw legal cases challenging the administration’s defunding of the Institute of Museum and Library Services continue to make their way through the courts in May and June. Meanwhile, library advocates contacted their legislators to fight for federal library funding in fiscal year 2026. Here are several updates on the attacks against libraries across the US and the ways in which library supporters are pushing back.”

American Libraries Online, June 18, Apr. 30
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Jacksonville (Fla.) Public Library writes: “Considered the longest-running African American holiday, Juneteenth has been celebrated by African Americans since the 1800s and became a federal holiday in 2021. A combination of the words ‘June’ and ‘nineteenth,’ it is celebrated on the anniversary of the order, issued by Major General Gordon Granger on June 19, 1865, proclaiming freedom for slaves in Texas. If you’re still somewhat new to Juneteenth celebrations or you’d like to share the history with your children, the library has books to help you out!” Lone Star College–University Park (Texas) Library offers a research guide with history, ebooks, primary sources, and more.

Jacksonville (Fla.) Public Library, June 13; Lone Star College University Park (Texas) Library, May 27
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Rob Bittner writes: “ALA’s Association for Library Service to Children and Young Adult Library Services Association are embarking on a new adventure together. We will be reunifying and the two divisions will once again be combined, with a mission to serve both children’s and teen librarians. I know that there will be many questions that I am unable to answer in a blog post or in our FAQ page, but we will be looking to the memberships of both divisions to provide feedback and input that we can use to ensure that we can best serve our newly reunited division starting in 2026.”

ALSC Blog, June 11

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