Advocacy Bootcamp
NELA & RILA are pleased to be in partnership with ALA again this year for a Sunday, October 21st, pre-conference at the Crowne Plaza, Warwick, RI.
9:00am – 12:00pm
You MUST register separately for the pre-conference!
Sunday Pre-Conference Registration
Speaker: James LaRue – Director of the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, and the Freedom to Read Foundation.Author of “The New Inquisition: Understanding and Managing Intellectual Freedom Challenges,” LaRue was a public library director for many years, as well as a weekly newspaper columnist and cable TV host. He has written, spoken, and consulted on leadership and organizational development, community engagement, and the future of libraries.
Speaker: Marci Merola – Director of ALA’s Office of Advocacy since its formation in 2007, providing advocacy resources, tools and support to librarians, staff and advocates at the state and local levels, speaking nationally and internationally on library advocacy, as well as working to integrate advocacy efforts throughout the association.
“Who needs libraries?” Beneath those three words is an iceberg of challenges, from delivering on-point messaging, gathering compelling statistics, and the need to re-educate key audiences on the value of libraries, fundamental not only to librarians, but to our democratic society at large. The recent rash of anti-library trends, including the anti-tax movement, privatization, removal of independent library boards and deprofessionalization, point to a systemic shift in our landscape that is very different than budget cuts and recession: an attack on libraries as a public service. State by state, Advocacy Boot Camp will help library communities prepare to advocate for libraries as fundamental building blocks to democracy. In this joint effort of ALA’s Office for Library Advocacy and the Office for Intellectual Freedom, we’ll explore some of the brutal facts about our current environment, celebrate our assets, and offer practical tips to reclaim a moral sanction for the work we do, and the support our communities deserve.
Building on the momentum and resources of ALA’s new public awareness and advocacy campaign, Libraries Transform, focuses on four key messages:
- Libraries transform lives.
- Libraries transform communities.
- Librarians are passionate advocates for lifelong learning.
- Libraries are a smart investment.
The program will cover advocacy basics such as messaging, networking and community engagement. Intellectual Freedom basics will also be covered. Attendees will focus on working on an advocacy plan that they can implement in their library.
Training Goals:
- To empower librarians with skills to tell their library’s story and secure funding for technology, e-books, and other resources
- To teach librarians and library advocates practical and powerful tips on how to be a respected, effective and supported voice in your community.
- To provide consistent messaging and an advocacy framework that can be used by libraries of all throughout a given state, and ultimately, across the country.
- To provide a mechanism for mentoring new advocates and creating a succession plan for advocacy.
