[Libs-Or] Last call: Comment on draft national policy agenda for libraries by 2-27! [feedly]

[Emily Ford]

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*Last call: Comment on draft national policy agenda for libraries by 2-27!*
<http://www.districtdispatch.org/2015/02/last-call-comment-on-draft-national-policy-agenda-for-libraries-by-2-27/>
// *District Dispatch*
<http://www.districtdispatch.org/2015/02/last-call-comment-on-draft-national-policy-agenda-for-libraries-by-2-27/>

Among the hundreds of powerful connections and conversations that took
place at the 2015 American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting
<http://www.americanlibrariesmagazine.org/alamw15>, librarians of all
backgrounds began commenting
<http://www.americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blog/talking-bout-revolution> on
a draft national policy agenda <http://www.ala.org/offices/PR-documents>
for libraries. They asked how libraries can secure additional funding at a
time of government budget cuts. Several noted and appreciated the inclusion
of federal libraries, and most people specifically welcomed the premise of
all libraries as linked together into a national infrastructure. And many
saw potential for the national agenda to serve as a template for state- and
local-level policy advocacy.

The draft agenda is the first step towards answering the questions “What
are the U.S. library interests and priorities for the next five years that
should be emphasized to national decision makers?” and “Where might there
be windows of opportunity to advance a particular priority at this
particular time?”

Outlining key issues and proposals is being pursued through the Policy
Revolution! Initiative <http://www.ala.org/news/node/9649>, led by the ALA
Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) and the Chief Officers of
State Library Agencies (COSLA). A Library Advisory Committee—which includes
broad representation from across the library community—provides overall
guidance to the national effort. The three-year initiative, funded by the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has three major elements: to develop a
national public policy agenda, to initiate and deepen national stakeholder
interactions based on policy priorities, and build library advocacy
capacity for the long-term.

“We are asking big questions, and I’m really encouraged by the insightful
feedback we’ve received in face-to-face meetings, emails and letters,” said
OITP Director Alan Inouye. “I hope more people will share their
perspectives and aspirations for building the capacity libraries of all
kinds need to achieve shared national policy goals.”

The current round of public input closes *Friday, February 27, 2015*. Send
*your* comments, questions and recommendations now to the project team at
oitp[at]alawash[dot]org.

The draft agenda provides an umbrella of timely policy priorities and is
understood to be too extensive to serve as the single policy agenda for any
given entity in the community. Rather, the goal is that various library
entities and their members can fashion their national policy priorities
under the rubric of this national public policy agenda.

>From this foundation, the ALA Washington Office will match priorities to
windows of opportunity and confluence to begin advancing policy
priorities—in partnership with other library organizations and allies with
whom there is alignment—in mid-2015.

“In a time of increasing competition for resources and challenges to
fulfilling our core missions, libraries and library organizations must come
together to advocate proactively and strategically,” said COSLA President
Kendall Wiggin. “Sustainable libraries are essential to sustainable
communities.”

The post Last call: Comment on draft national policy agenda for libraries
by 2-27!
<http://www.districtdispatch.org/2015/02/last-call-comment-on-draft-national-policy-agenda-for-libraries-by-2-27/>
appeared first on District Dispatch <http://www.districtdispatch.org>.

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