The District Library Newsletter: An Advocacy Tool
As you plan your advocacy efforts for 2019, don’t forget about your district-level administrators. The decisions they make can have a huge impact on your library and on your district’s library program. Even if they’ve always been supportive of libraries, don’t assume they know what goes on in your space. After all, they aren’t in your building, much less in your library, every day. Make sure you have a plan to let them know what you do and why it matters to students (and teachers).
School Librarian's Role in Reading Toolkit
Thirty seconds and 100-150 words An effective elevator pitch generally answers questions such as: What the product, service, or project is.
The Time for Advocacy Is Now: Why Telling Your Story Is So Important.
Having been a lifelong reader and library user, I had all sorts of assumptions about school libraries in general. First, I thought that stakeholders would instinctively know the value of an effective school library. Secondly, I had always been under the impression that school libraries in general were adequately funded and that budgets were never in question.
How-To: Not Good With Elevator Speeches? Try 'Taxi Chats'
Everybody talks about the work they do. It’s a staple topic of conversation over meals, at meetings, during sporting events, in hallways, on airplanes, between classes, and yes, sometimes in elevators. Most librarians realize that they should have an “elevator speech” about their work, but few actually do. The origin of that phrase is simple: When you’re in an elevator with someone, and you’re riding together for a few floors, what can you say to make an impression in that brief time?
Advocating for the Library You Want to Become
Three years ago I enrolled in the University of Toronto’s Library Advocacy Unshushed MOOC. The online course description was a simple premise or perhaps a call to arms of “How can we strengthen libraries and librarians in the advancement of knowledge, creativity, and literacy in the 21st century? Though libraries have been loved for over 3,600 years, their relevance in the digital age is being questioned, and their economic and social impacts are poorly understood. What is really essential about libraries and librarians, today and tomorrow?”
*Advocate This, Not That!
Illustration by James Yang “A university is just a group of buildings gathered around a library,” wrote the historian and novelist Shelby Foote. Consider a corollary to this quote—a school is just a group of buildings gathered around a library—and whether it aptly describes how important your school library is to the overall function of your institution. Too often, school libraries are seen as peripheral, not central, to teaching and learning. We can speak to parents, teachers, and principals about the value of our programs and services, but the decisions about how to best allocate funds are often made at the district level. When money gets tight, those programs with the greatest impact on the highest priorities are valued the most.
Your School Library Media Specialist – Your School’s Utility Player – NJPSA and FEA
As you start the school year, consider the ways that you can maximize the use of your school librarian. Your school librarian is your school’s utility player. A utility player is one that can play several positions competently, similarly, your school librarian is also someone that can fulfill several educational roles. Today’s school library is more than a warehouse of books. Not only are digital resources found in school libraries, but Makerspaces, STEM/Innovation Labs and a judgment-free space, making the school library feel welcoming, comfortable and safe.
Everyday Advocacy
You’re in an elevator with the Board president. Or the Mayor. Or the Chairperson of the city’s Youth Commission. You have one minute before the elevator opens and you go your separate ways. What do you say? You’ve got your elevator speech prepared, and now’s the perfect time to use it!
