[Libs-Or] Talking to Legislators - Change Looks Impossible When You Start

Mon Jul 29 16:46:58 PDT 2013

This is a good piece about working with legislators and making
connections.  For the photos that go with this piece go to District
Dispatch.

http://www.districtdispatch.org/2013/07/change-looks-impossible-when-you-start/

Change Looks Impossible When You Start
Posted on July 29, 2013 by Jazzy Wright

"*Change looks impossible when you start, inevitable when you finish"* -
Bob Hunter

There seems to never a really be a great opportunity to take time out and
visit legislators. It takes energy, a time commitment and it can sometimes
seem futile and a bit overwhelming. But I have learned from the many
American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and American Library
Association (ALA) Washington Office folks that it *is* worth the effort -
and the more of us that do it, the more effective we are. Legislators
listen. But they'll listen more to 500 of us than to one of us.

Somewhere, a while back I got riled up about the state of school
librarians. Their disappearance from schools is more than troubling, it's a
downright disaster. So I joined my state school library association,
listened to all the folks in leadership and began to learn about how to
make change. It's not fast, and it's not easy...

Then I read this quote from Winona LaDuke:

"*Change will come. As always, it is just a matter of who determines what
that change will look like".*

I then decided that it was time for me to help make change, and what it
should look like. That meant that it was time to step up and actually leave
my house and go talk to people. I've visited legislators during state
Legi-days, but this time, it was important - because a visit this time is a
chat about things that are happening now - and can truly make a difference.
So three phone calls later, I had three appointments with my legislators.

At the time of my visit to Congressman Jared Huffman's (D- CA) office in
San Rafael Calif., there was no education business on the table, but armed
with handouts<http://www.districtdispatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/AASL-Handout.png>,
my chat with his fabulous aide Valerie turned into a discussion about the
congressman's views on education and other timely local topics. California
schools are at the very bottom of the bottom in terms of school library
service, and I thought it was important that he know this.

When he was my local State Assemblyman, I spoke with him personally about
library issues, including at his fundraiser events, so it was helpful to be
able to remind Valerie of his already stated commitment to quality
education including school librarians. What worked really well, was that
later, when the House version of the education bill came out and no word of
librarians is contained in it at all, I emailed to Valerie who responded
right away with a "I'll research this." She did and returned with a
response that gave further information about what his feelings were about
the bill. A brief back and forth of emails about the Senate version, and
the House version ensued with a promise to keep me in mind when education
issues come up.

A fun aside: a few days later, Valerie emailed me to tell me that she had
chatted with the Washington education aide and that a former student of
mine in Junior High - said hello! So connections are made in the darndest
places!

Senator Boxer's local office is in Sacramento. I love Sacramento, but it is
1 and a half hours away from me so when I realized I had no access to a car
on the day of my appointment (something I really should have thought
through...) I ended up chatting with her Field Representative Brandon via
email and phone. I sent him the
handouts<http://www.districtdispatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/AASL-Handout.png>and
then we set a time for a phone call.

He called at our appointed time with some insightful questions, and
mentioned that Senator Boxer had her own concerns with the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Senate version. She's got a bill (the
Afterschool for America's Children Act) for after school programs on the
floor right now and wants to see them merged.

I pointed out to him that most of those programs are held in libraries -
both public and school - and that supporting school libraries is an
important part of supporting those programs she holds near and dear. He
agreed and said that he would mention that to the Senator and to the
Senator's Washington Education Aide. He was also going to set up an
appointment for me to visit with the Washington Aide during my visit to
D.C. in early August.

Last, but not least, a few days later, I took a drive into San Francisco
for my visit with Assistant Field Representative Katie and her two interns
in Senator Feinstein's office. I'm always up for a nice visit to the city
and this day was no exception. Twenty-four floors up with an amazing view,
we discussed school libraries and college libraries.

Again, my handouts<http://www.districtdispatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/AASL-Handout.png>were
the center of our discussion I used them as talking points - the AASL
infographic<http://www.districtdispatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/AASLInfographic.png>is
really a visual bulleted list of important factoids about school
libraries, so using it helps move the discussion in a logical way and helps
me to not forget important points.(Download the
infographic.<http://www.districtdispatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/AASLInfographic.png>It
is a bonus to be able to say that this infographic was designed by a
student at my school!)

Senator Feinstein has a school named after her in the City and she spends
time there reading with students in the library so she is aware of schools
and libraries. It was important to remind her that when it comes time to
vote, she really is voting for a strong school library for *her* school as
well as in all other schools in America.

*Here's the Cliff Notes version of tips for a visit: *

Call or email to make an appointment. Introduce yourself and tell what you
want to talk about.

   1. Ask to talk to the person in charge of educational issues
   2. Bring a visual aid. The AASL
infographic<http://www.districtdispatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/AASLInfographic.png>and
quotes, a parent brochure, and a picture of kids in a library are all
   good things to start with. I also included a copy of the section of the of
   the ESEA bill (Subpart 2) that highlights librarians. I wanted to make sure
   they knew and understood which part I was asking them to keep their eye on.
   3. Plan on having a 15 minute meeting. It's sort of 11 minutes longer
   than a typical "elevator speech" - and that's if you're going up 20 or so
   floors. When I sat down with Katie and the interns, I started in with: 'I
   am going to give you my elevator speech - by the time we're through, I
   would like you to know and understand which part of ESEA I want you to know
   about, why it's important and why I think the Senator should endorse -
   publically and loudly - this section as it moves through the process."
   Getting to the point right away is important - distill your "ask" to
   distinct points so that they know and understand exactly what you want.
   4. Dress for business. Yes, it's only 15 minutes, but you can change in
   the car. Pull out the black pants, nice shoes, dressy shirt - guys wear a
   coat/tie - and walk in with the confidence of knowing you are supporting a
   worthy cause.
   5. Be interested in them. I discovered that one of the interns went to
   school in Berkeley, Calif., where I know the librarians. The other went
   where there were no librarians- we were able to use those two experiences
   as discussion starters.
   6. Whenever you can, remind them that the meeting is not about librarian
   jobs--it's about what kids need in the 21st Century.

*Days later: Katie from Senator Feinstein's office called with an update
and with a different set of concerns about the bill. I am grateful to have
received this email update and have responded to it. It's this connection
that makes it work - and hopefully if others will do this, then the
Legislative Aides will have hundreds of librarians on their email list to
respond to - and then receive hundreds of responses....a sure-fire way to
instigate change. *

*Connie is a teacher-librarian and co-chairs the **GODORT Gov Docs Kids
Committee* <http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/Govdocs_for_Kids>*.*

http://www.districtdispatch.org/2013/07/change-looks-impossible-when-you-start/

-- 
*Diedre Conkling**
Lincoln County Library District
P.O. Box 2027
Newport, OR 97365
Phone & Fax: 541-265-3066
Work email**: **diedre at lincolncolibrarydist.org*<diedre at lincolncolibrarydist.org>
*
Home email: **diedre08 at gmail.com* <diedre08 at gmail.com>

 "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change
your attitude."--Maya Angelou
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://omls.oregon.gov/pipermail/libs-or/attachments/20130729/5799b77c/attachment.html>