Advocacy Matters

Provides practical approaches and tips (real-world examples, best practices) to use in advocating for your library.

New Advocacy Initiative Targets "Frontline Advocates"

By Marci Merola, Director, ALA Office for Library Advocacy; Dr. Julie Todaro,.Dean, Library Services, Austin Community College; and Patricia M. Wong, County Librarian and Archivist, Yolo County (Calif.) Library

Everyday librarians and library workers in public libraries around the country provide critical services to our respective communities. This passionate group has great stories to tell about their job’s value and the importance of their libraries, but they don’t always have the opportunity – or the position– to tell those stories. In some cases, they may have the opportunities, but not the vantage point nor the data to express themselves effectively. 
2009-2010 ALA President Camila A. Alire is working to change that dynamic. Recognizing that the voice of the library page or paraprofessional is as important as that of the library director and that circles of influence are not bound by hierarchy within the workplace, Alire launched an Initiative to empower librarians and library workers at the “frontlines” to tell their library’s story.

“Libraries: the Heart of All Communities” focuses on practical tools to help frontline library staff work with their administrations to identify those opportunities to advocate for the value of libraries and  themselves on a daily basis.  The Initiative stresses that becoming educated about how to effectively communicate the value of libraries, including the essential role libraries play in creating and maintaining literate communities, should be a priority for all public library staff. 

The Frontline Advocacy Initiative has its roots in ACRL’s Power of Personal Persuasion, a similar initiative geared to academics and undertaken when Alire was president of that association in 2008.  This new endeavor is obviously broader, reaching across all library types, and recognizes the variances in training, target audience, messaging and approach. 

Likewise, the Frontline Advocacy Toolkit, launched days before the ALA Midwinter Meeting, was created by frontline public, school, academic and special librarians with those specific audiences in mind. Online resources include half- and whole- day training modules, scripts for common situations, publicity templates, and a host of referrals to other excellent tools. In particular, “52 Ways to Advocate,” which consists of one idea per week for an entire year, is a roadmap to help staff get started in their role as library advocates.  The list offers a general theme for each week followed by more detailed and/or practical suggestions.  As a result of making time each week to read and reflect on just one idea for frontline advocacy, library staff can sharpen their skills in this vital area and build an army of supporters who can and will speak out on behalf of the library.  The toolkit is available through ALA’s Advocacy University at www.ala.org/frontlineadvocacy .

While its strengths for libraries of every type is apparent, one can’t help but consider what a powerful tool this is in the hands of public library managers, librarians and library workers.  And the timing couldn’t be better. Thanks to ALA’s efforts to shine a national media spotlight on the increase of library usage in this recession, more and more Americans – patrons and non-patrons alike – are becoming aware of the value of the library.  Alire’s Initiative gives all who work in the library the ability to articulate the response, engage in conversation, and harness their essential role in advocating on behalf of libraries. Followers of Alire’s Initiative will be able to deliver powerful messages stressing the value of libraries to gain community support for library endeavors.

This critical role includes understanding the importance of advocacy; a definition for frontline advocacy; a commitment to disseminating the information through the art of persuasion and influence; and creating and delivering messages using a variety of communication strategies.  As a result, employees – at all levels within the organization - should be able to motivate customers to build institutional “grassroots” support for library initiatives and the library budget; to assist library administrators in representing library interests in decision making venues; and to build a cohort of supporters who will advocate for the library in their own environments throughout the organization – from the frontline to the highest administrative level – ultimately becoming effective advocates for their libraries.

Alire’s Initiative also celebrates one of the basic foundations of library service – reading and literacy.  The five ethnic ALA affiliates – the American Indian Library Association, the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association, the Black Caucus of ALA, the Chinese American Librarians Association, and REFORMA- will design easily replicated and sustainable models of family literacy programs for diverse communities. Initiative content will be available online through ALA’s Advocacy University and the Office for Literacy and Outreach Services.  For more information, contact www.camilaalire.org.