Passage of the MLSA would reauthorize the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), reinforcing the agency—and America’s libraries—as a priority for the federal government. The proposed MLSA mirrors the previous authorization, which expired in 2016. The new legislation authorizes IMLS through 2025 and contains improvements to enable more libraries on tribal lands to participate … Continue reading Lame-Duck Library Advocacy
By 2007 (and after I had served as DCL director for 16 years), 84% of households in the county had an active library card. Its annual circulation per capita was 27, and gate counts exceeded those of any local business by a wide margin. In June 2009, right after DCL decided to go back to … Continue reading Advocacy and the Power of Narrative
On September 26, the US Senate held a hearing on the Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act (S. 1010), which passed the House of Representatives in March 2018. One of the two witnesses at this hearing was our copyright counsel Jonathan Band, who also serves as counsel to the Library Copyright Alliance (LCA). This … Continue reading Keep Copyright Office in Library of Congress
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
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
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
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
“We were able to get the Tea Party to support our millage increase. That’s probably the first and last time that would happen in Kent County,” he joked to attendees at the United for Libraries President’s Program, “Engaging Elected Officials with Your Library,” at the American Library Association’s Annual Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans … Continue reading Everyday Advocacy
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
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”
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
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
