[Libs-Or] Fwd: Advocacy and the Modern Librarian: It's Time to Speak Up!

[Diedre Conkling]

I thought this might be of interest to those of you who are not ALA members
and might not have received this message.


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Subject: Advocacy and the Modern Librarian: It's Time to Speak Up!
To: "Diedre Conkling" <diedrec at charter.net>
From: "Rosalind Reynolds" <rreynolds at alawash.org>
Date: Fri, 29 Feb 2008 11:10:29 -0500 (EST)



Dear ALA Member:

To help ALA advocates "speak up" about the library message, the ALA
Washington Office is offering a series of new resources in the coming
months, including webinars, podcasts, online classes and materials to
make your federal grassroots lobbying experience as easy and painless
as possible. Join us for our first "Speaking Up!" webinar on Thursday
March 6th at 4:00pm eastern.  You can learn more and register at
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/442300631.


Why get involved?

Well, did you know that the ALA Washington Office monitors or actively
lobbies for hundreds of bills that could impact the day-to-day work of
all types of libraries around the country?

Or how about this: as of Feb. 18th, 2008 over 275 bills mentioning the word
"library" have been introduced in this session of the U.S.
Congress?

Or, perhaps most important, that the most common question in any Member of
Congress' office is, "how does this impact my district?"

Your ALA Washington Office is comprised of experienced professionals
who understand the legislative process as well as the potential impact
of proposed bills on the library community. They know the difference
between a conference committee and a markup, a Suspension bill and a
Senator, or a concurrent resolution and a special order.

But with all their knowledge, they often lack one important ingredient for
success, the answer to the most important question of all, "how do
proposed federal policies impact individual congressional districts and
states?"

In fact, that question can best be answered by you: the individual members
of ALA. We need your stories, your local expertise and
your active participation to influence federal policy.

At the same time, we understand that the modern librarian plays a number of
roles: business person, advisor, community developer-even baby sitter!
Believe
it or not, learning the ins and outs of effective advocacy will make each
and
every one of these roles easier to manage. Whether you have five minutes,
one
hour or three days to devote to advocacy, you'll see its positive
impact in all the work you do.

The good news is that the ALA Washington Office stands ready to assist.
Following are the top 10 things you can do to be an effective
grassroots advocate – if we can help you implement any of these ideas,
let us know!

1.      Sign up for Library Legislative Day (more information at:
www.ala.org/nlld

2.      If you can't come to DC, sign up for Virtual Library
Legislative Day (more information at:
http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/washevents/nlld/virtuallibrarylegislativeday/vlld.cfm
)

Before Library Legislative Day, participate in one of our webinars (or
download the recording after):

March 6th: Advocacy and the Modern Librarian: ALA Resources and Events
to Help
YOU Go Forth and Advocate (register at
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/442300631)
     April 16th: Preparing for Leg Day: Whether In DC or At Home,
You too can be an Effective Advocate

4.      Goto our online action center at http://www.capwiz.com/ala
and respond to an action alert. It takes FIVE minutes!
If you aren't sure how, attend our March 6th session or download the
post-session recording.

5.      Take our online advocacy class at
http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/gettinginvolved/onlineadvocacy/OnlineAdvocacy.cfm

6.      If you haven't already, join FLLAN, the Federal Library
Legislative and Advocacy Network. More information at
http://www.ala.org/fllan

7.      Sign up to receive notices from the District Dispatch or
ALAWON Newsletter at http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/washnews/news.cfm.
If you prefer podcasts, have no fear-there will be plenty of them coming
your
way!

8.      Join us after Legislative Day for more webinars on topics
ranging from Building Long Term Relationships with Elected Officials to
Creating Local Advocacy Campaigns to Arranging Library Tours and
Visits.

9.      Identify opportunities for your library to get involved in
the elections-from President to your local city council there will
likely be some changes. Wouldn't it be great to have library friendly
folks in office? Get started by encouraging friends, trustees and board
members to register to vote at www.rockthevote.org

10.  Check out the resources and materials at ALA's own "Advocacy
Institute." More information at
http://www.ala.org/ala/issues/issuesadvocacy.htm

Why you? Only you can help Members of Congress understand that the crazy
things they do in Washington,DC, directly and sometimes negatively
impact local libraries.

Why now? Changes in the makeup of the U.S. Congress offer both opportunities
and challenges for libraries. We will reap the benefits of opportunities
(and
minimize the challenges) if we all speak up-not tomorrow, not next week, not
next year but now.

So what are you waiting for-get out there and advocate for libraries! You'll
be glad you did.

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