Advocating for your library (safe politics)

In brief: Advocate for your library. Libraries help to make literate voters. Your thoughts here. :)

Lots of Words: Public librarians and their governing boards aim to be open, fair, balanced, and good. We keep party politics out of decisions that effect library services. We aim for a common mission, to do good for our community through public libraries. Libraries should be aware of the potential to enter lobbyist territory.
“All charities not otherwise excluded, who spend more than $2,500 per quarter on advocacy, must register as lobbyists with the Pennsylvania Department of State. Charities will be required to register as lobbyists, track their advocacy communications and disclose all costs associated with state advocacy. Failure to register could result in fines”
Here’s the link to more information: pano.org (Note: One leader at each district library has a username and password to PANO’s vast collection of resources.)

Now that you’ve read about lobbying, I urge you to continue to be an advocate for libraries.
How much do you know about advocacy?
Here’s a sample of places to begin to learn more:
ala.org American Library Association
citizensfortheartsinpa.orgLook at advocacy outside libraries.
palibraries.org: Look for the Advocacy Tool KitPALA

To switch subjects, just a bit, on the lighter side, just for fun, imagine two candidates for political election:
Person 1: cheated on his wife and used the word retard casually, but increases library support by 50%
Person 2: did lots of government stuff that some people like and some people dislike, but capped library funding.
Who would you vote for? (Write-in anyone?)

I hope we can all laugh about the election quandary I pose above. After all, we’re librarians. We would prepare more supporting information that would make the decision easier. It’s our job. We organize, prepare, and share resources so our users can make informed decisions in this democracy.

While I’m guessing there aren’t a lot of elections right now that would be completely influenced by a candidate’s platform on paying for public library services, we can’t forget that the collective impact of library users is powerful in a very different way. Think about it.
Now, how can we harness the power? Hmmmm…. :)

That brings it all back to politics. What is the role of the public library in politics? I propose it is this: to provide shared open access to unbiased organized information and resources to grow an informed citizenry that makes better decisions to elect leaders. It’s a cycle.

Once that politician gets elected, how do you remind him or her that the library helped people make better decisions? Does your library do things from the list below?:
Provide first hand proof the value of your information services directly to the email inbox of your leader.
Give the town manager information that makes solving a crisis easier.
Send an article from POWERLibrary with evidence to help build a solution for health care in the U.S.
Post information from the library’s catalog or website on the Facebook wall of your favorite teacher so he can send students to useful resources available at the public library.

Libraries are there to help leaders succeed. Be thankful for what libraries are allowed to do and do what’s valuable today. Make them look good. Give leaders the firsthand proof you provide quality information they can use to lead and improve the community. See the collective value of that impact and smile.

Every person you are serving could be the next leader.