Grassroots Library Advocacy

by Lauren Comito, Aliqae Geraci, Christian Zabriskie

Overview

Library issues are community issues—it’s not enough to simply marshal internal library resources to fight cutbacks. When properly harnessed, public engagement can be the most powerful force of all for library advocacy. But rounding up advocates from the wider community and conducting a grassroots effort demands careful planning and commitment. This ALA Editions Special Report cuts through the rhetoric and gets straight to modeling a plan of action, for libraries big and small, byDetailing the lessons learned during the authors’ successful campaign to save New York City librariesInstructing readers how to clarify the message, manage volunteers, and plan eventsOffering public relations strategies, including advice for dealing with political leaders and the mediaThis indispensable report goes beyond the “what-to-do” of library advocacy and explains how to do it right

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780838994986
Publisher:	American Library Association
Publication date:	08/09/2012
Series:	ALA Special Report
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	62
File size:	250 KB

About the Author

Lauren Comito is an Outreach Librarian for Queens Library, helping people understand and embrace technology as well as assisting them in job readiness and locating employment. She has recently been elected as an ALA Councilor at Large, and has been appointed to the Committee on Library Advocacy. As Director of Communications and Operations for Urban Librarians Unite, she is a key figure in modern urban library activism and has been instrumental in developing an organization which has received national attention while scoring advocacy victories at home.

Aliqae Geraci is the Industrial and Labor Relations Research Librarian at Cornell University's Martin P. Catherwood Library. A former public librarian and labor union researcher, she serves on the Board of Directors of Urban Librarians Unite.

Christian Zabriskie is the Assistant Coordinator of Young Adult Services for Queens Library. He is also the Founder & CEO of Urban Librarians Unite, a not for profit corporation dedicated to promoting dialog between urban librarians, fostering scholarship in issues of urban librarianship, and helping libraries at risk regardless of size or location. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA).

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction
1 Getting Started
2 Message and Visibility
3 Navigating Relationships
4 Putting Yourself Out There: The Nuts and Bolts of Advocacy
Appendix
Index
About the Authors