Advocacy Archives | Page 5 of 45 | American Libraries Magazine

HEROES Act Stalls in Senate

By Kathi Kromer | May 22, 2020

Despite the 101 representatives who called for $2 billion in funding for libraries, a bipartisan letter signed by 46 senators calling for new library stabilization funding, and a coalition of 35 national organizations, the HEROES Act provided only $5 million for libraries through the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The HEROES Act does aim to increase digital equity. The House bill provides $4 billion to expand high-speed internet access to those who cannot afford it, … Continue reading HEROES Act Stalls in Senate →

ALA Rallies Support for Congressional COVID-19 Relief Packages

By Kathi Kromer | May 12, 2020

According to the letter, “COVID-19 has caused significant revenue losses for libraries, resulting in thousands of furloughs and layoffs to date. Fiscal stabilization is needed to preserve crucial library services for students, job seekers, and small businesses.” Citing significant support for libraries in Congress, the letter’s signatories wrote, “We join with more than 100 bipartisan … Continue reading ALA Rallies Support for Congressional COVID-19 Relief Packages →

COVID-19: Filling the Learning Gap

By Marijke Visser | May 7, 2020

With stay-at-home orders reshaping education, many students are unable to participate in the online learning most states require. Members of Congress are now recognizing that the “homework gap”—experienced by the roughly 8–12 million K–12 students who lack broadband access at home—is only part of a larger learning gap. Libraries are a safety net for those … Continue reading COVID-19: Filling the Learning Gap →

Fund Libraries: Tell Congress to Invest in Libraries graphic, with red and white text on black background

Library Advocates Stay in Motion

By Emily Wagner and Kevin Maher | April 1, 2020

February 10 may feel like 100 years ago, but that date marked—for a fourth consecutive year—the administration’s threat to eliminate all library funding from the federal budget. As ever, library advocates responded with emphatic determination. The annual campaign to gather support for the federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) program began with ALA’s annual fly-in, the timing of which aligned with the … Continue reading Library Advocates Stay in Motion →

Federal Relief Package Supports Libraries

By Kathi Kromer | March 27, 2020

In addition to supporting funding for libraries, the American Library Association (ALA) supported relief provisions for nonprofit organizations that will allow ALA and other library associations to continue to serve our professions during a crisis that has severely impacted revenue streams, such as conferences. The significant aid for workers across the country through stimulus checks, unemployment … Continue reading Federal Relief Package Supports Libraries →

States Act on Ebooks

By Alan S. Inouye and Emily Wagner | March 13, 2020

On March 3, library advocates in New York sent 10,000 letters to state lawmakers as part of a public campaign in response to recent efforts to limit library access to ebooks. The letters, drafted by the New York Library Association in partnership with the American Library Association (ALA), were in support of legislation that would require publishers who … Continue reading States Act on Ebooks →

Advocates in Motion to #FundLibraries

By Emily Wagner and Kevin Maher | March 3, 2020

For the fourth year in a row, the Trump administration has called for the elimination of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), currently funded at $195.4 million, and Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL), a school library-eligible program through the Department of Education, currently funded at $27 million. Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Susan Collins … Continue reading Advocates in Motion to #FundLibraries →

From left: Jillian Rael, Sharon Kay Edwards, and Patricia Rua-Bashir at the Public Library Association 2020 Conference in Nashville on February 25.

Advocacy Assets

By Terra Dankowski | February 26, 2020

“[People] think advocacy is marble steps and these throne rooms. [For me,] it’s handshakes and sweet tea and conversations,” said Sharon Kay Edwards, legislative monitor for the Tennessee Library Association (TLA), librarian at Motlow State Community College, and an American Library Association (ALA) Policy Corps member. Edwards and her Tennessee colleagues presented the preconference “Developing … Continue reading Advocacy Assets →

Incoming ALA Executive Director Tracie D. Hall addresses attendees at the second annual library advocacy fly-in in Washington, D.C., February 10.

Doubling Down on Strategic Library Advocacy

By Emily Wagner | February 13, 2020

This year, the fly-in aligned with the release of the White House budget proposal for FY2021, which—for a fourth consecutive year—lays out the closure of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). ALA responded to the budget proposal with a statement and call to action, and ALA’s incoming Executive Director Tracie D. Hall opened … Continue reading Doubling Down on Strategic Library Advocacy →

US Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I., left) and Julie Holden, president of the Rhode Island Library Association

Bringing Congress on Board with #eBooksForAll

By Ed Garcia and Julie Holden | February 11, 2020

Like many libraries and consortia around the country, RILA has denounced Macmillan Publishers’ policy that places an eight-week embargo on new ebook titles after libraries purchase one copy. Cranston Public Library (CPL), for example, has stopped buying any ebook or digital audio book published by Macmillan or its imprints. CPL has also stopped promoting Macmillan authors and … Continue reading Bringing Congress on Board with #eBooksForAll →

Making the News

By Phil Morehart | January 27, 2020

Christi Buker, executive director of the Pennsylvania Library Association, stressed that libraries should focus on what they do best when conducting advocacy, highlighting successful programs and outreach efforts that can justify continued or new government funding. Alternately, Buker said that libraries need to focus on the bad, too. If libraries are hurting due to lack … Continue reading Making the News →

Dewey Decibel, episode 44: Advocacy: Anyone Can Do It

Dewey Decibel Podcast: Advocacy: Anyone Can Do It

November 22, 2019

First, American Libraries Senior Editor and Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart speaks with Denis Cotter, chair of Loudon County (Va.) Public Library Board of Trustees, about how the board successfully lobbied the county board of supervisors for the elimination of fines at the library. Next, American Libraries Associate Editor Sallyann Price talks to John Windmueller, … Continue reading Dewey Decibel Podcast: Advocacy: Anyone Can Do It →

Latest Library Links

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Sheila Craft-Morgan writes: “Citations are a key measure of the impact of a researcher’s work. However, research in a variety of disciplines has found that women are less likely to be cited than men; citations contain geographic bias; and the Matthew effect—in which those who begin with advantage continue to gain advantage—leads to more citations for prominent scholars in a specific discipline. These findings contribute to the notion that scholarly knowledge comes from a homogenous group of researchers, thereby overlooking the contributions of other groups.”

American Libraries column, June
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Mel Baldwin writes: “Regardless of why someone comes into a library, every patron should be free to interact with staff, browse materials, and use the internet without fear of harassment or worse. That freedom depends on libraries upholding patron privacy. With nearly 400 active anti-trans bills pending in state legislatures as of April 2024, it is a dangerous time in the US to be gender nonconforming, someone whose gender expression does not align with the traditional male or female binary. And for trans people of color, studies show the risk of discrimination and violence is higher.”

American Libraries column, June
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Greg Landgraf writes: “On a school morning last September, small groups of 5th-graders crowded around tools connected to scientific research—a microscope, a robotic camera, and even a snake named Morgan Freeman—clipboards and pencils in hand. They were at the Melrose branch of Roanoke (Va.) Public Libraries (RPL), judging graduate students from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg on their research. The event was RPL’s second Flip the Fair, introduced in 2022 to help graduate students develop skills to effectively communicate their research while engaging local elementary students with STEM topics and the library.”

American Libraries Trend, June
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Aaryn Bierly writes: “Disability Pride Month is traditionally celebrated in July to celebrate the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. The ADA regulates laws regarding service animals, requires employers to accommodate their employees’ physical and medical needs, stipulates the number and placement of accessible parking spaces and restrooms, and more. One in five Americans has some type of disability that makes working more difficult, and the ADA has made working conditions easier for a significant number of Americans. We’ve got several great lists of books for kids and teens of different ages featuring characters with a range of disabilities.”

Herrick District Library (Holland, Mich.), July 1
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“Many people already turn to libraries as sources of trusted information ahead of elections, and organizations like ALA and the League of Women Voters are hoping to expand those numbers. We’ve curated a selection of resources, tools, and ideas to help inform your library’s approach to this important work.”

WebJunction, July 3
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“A federal appeals court in New Orleans is taking another look at its own order requiring a Texas county to keep eight books that deal with subjects including sex, gender identity, and racism on public library shelves. Llano County officials had initially removed 17 books from its shelves amid complaints about the subject matter. The June 6 order was vacated July 3 after a majority of the 17-member court granted Llano County officials a new hearing before the full court. The order did not state reasons and the hearing hasn’t yet been scheduled.”

Associated Press, July 7
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Todd Spangler writes: “In the days after Paramount Global disabled mtvnews.com and mtv.com/news in June—removing a trove of hundreds of thousands of articles about music and pop culture from the internet—the not-for-profit Internet Archive assembled a searchable index of 460,575 web pages previously published at mtv.com/news. The Wayback Machine’s archive of MTV News is not the full complement of what was published over the span of more than two decades. But the new collection at least ensures, for the time being, that much of MTV News’ articles remain accessible in some form.”

Variety, July 2

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