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Board Responsibility - To support, recommend and listen actively.
- Trustees tend to leave the job of advocacy to:
- the director and staff
- Directors and staff should advocate for their library.
- Their jobs involve more imperative responsibilities such as, providing services for which to advocate.
- When staff advocate for more of anything for their library, people often think they are feathering their own nest.
- the library Friends group
- Are known for raising funds through book sales, gift shops, and the like.
- They can be powerful advocates for the library if they are trained.
- Library boards are advocates and thus need to improve their performance.
Types of Advocacy - Lobby
- Ask various legislative bodies to increase funding or a change in a law to assist the library.
- Advocate through lobbying requires assertiveness and knowledge.
- If a board member has not lobbied before, get help.
- Attend workshops and reading books.
- A board member:
- Has credibility with local town councils, county commissions, state legislators, and members of the congressional delegation.
- Should become familiar with these people.
- Should attend town council and county commission meetings and introduce oneself.
- Should obtain information on meeting with legislatures at the state capital.
- Contact congressional representatives in Washington, via e-mail.
- Is publicly appointed or elected to their position.
- Is expected to have specific knowledge and experience pertaining to the library.
- Public Relations
- The library should establish relationships with other supportive organizations, such as the Chamber of Commerce.
- Do not confuse with publicity.
- Both of the following activities are a type of marketing.
- Publicity:
- Is generated by the library staff.
- Consists of printed materials and websites.
- Expect a library director to engage in public relations.
- Expect library board members to enhance the library’s image with the people of supportive organizations.
- Those people can influence their members to support the library through fund-raising or lobbying.
- Fund-raising:
- A board member should be involved in fund-raising.
- If the library Friends group is active, give the members lots of assistance and support in their fund-raising efforts.
- A library can use additional funds.
- A board member needs to be publicly active.
How to Advocate - Learn to Listen
- One of the major mistakes library advocates make is talking instead of listening.
- Effectively advocate by knowing about the issues and concerns of the people who affect the library.
- Paying community members are more likely to continue supporting services that are important to them.
- Only talking about library services is a waste of everyone’s time.
- Listen to community members to find out what they think is important.
- If the library is a municipal or county library, attend city council meetings on a regular basis to listen to the issues the city is dealing with.
- Pay attention to the questions and remarks of local lawmakers, to have a firm grasp of their concerns.
- The library will get the council’s attention when it can help with the concerns on the table.
- Important things to do:
- Attend county commission meetings.
- Watch televised public meetings.
- Go to “meet the candidates” sessions.
- Stay current with the funding authorities.
- Avoid ignoring the issues, problems, and interests of library patrons.
- Keep current with the needs and interests of patrons’ via:
- surveys
- focus groups
- interviews
- To advocate effectively for the library keep informed of the patrons’ needs.
- Ask the Right Questions
- Questions:
- What can the library do for the patrons?
- The question sounds helpful, but may suggest things a library is unable or unwilling to do.
- The library is not prepared to offer these services because they are not a part of its essential mission.
- The library will be able to help and respond to the patrons request within in the confines of the library mission statement.
- What Do We Advocate?
- Libraries provide services that enhance the quality of life
- What do library patrons and funding organizations find valuable?
- Community economic problems:
- Illustrate how the programs and services of the library assist the community in its economic development efforts.
- Safety and wellbeing of children:
- Illustrate how the children benefit from after-school programs that the library offers.
- Provide evidence and results to advocate the library’s value to the community.
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