Public library advocacy is support given to a public library for its financial and philosophical goals or needs. Most often this takes the form of monetary or material donations or campaigning to the institutions which oversee the library. Originally, library advocacy was centered on the library itself, but current trends show libraries positioning themselves to demonstrate they provide "economic value to the community".
History
Forms
Letter-writing campaigns Letter writing campaigns are chiefly intended to inform law makers, library officials, and citizens about the ramifications of decisions regarding public libraries and to promote library-related causes. Letter writing has been a valuable form of communication among public library advocates. A well-timed and hand-crafted email or strategically sent letter can be a potent mechanism used to sway the decisions of elected officials and the masses. Letters are practical because they can be distributed to many individuals and can serve as representation for public library advocates who cannot attend crucial meetings or rallies.
Programs Public libraries frequently use programming to increase awareness of the valuable services and resources that they offer to the community. Some of these programs offer information and educational resources for library advocates and librarians while others are directed towards increasing public knowledge of library services and resources.
Library Card Sign-up Month is celebrated in September as a part of The Smartest Card campaign. During Library Card Sign-up Month, the library card is frequently promoted as the most important card that individuals can have in their wallets. Library Card Sign-Up Month is a popular program across the United States. The ALA logo for the Smartest Card campaign is, “The Smartest Card. Get it. Use it. @ your library”. "Turning the Page: Building Your Library Community" is an advocacy education and training program funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Courses are available both online and in person and are designed to give library advocates access to the training, skills, and resources to better advocate for their library’s funding needs.” Toolkits: Frontline Advocacy is an ALA toolkit that provides librarians and library workers with the advocacy tools and support they need to advocate for their own libraries and the profession. It is intended for public, school, academic, and special libraries. The Frontline Advocacy for Public Libraries Toolkit offers a variety of helpful resources including information about blogging, speech making, and data collecting. Advocating in a Tough Economy is a response to difficult economic situations when the library is simultaneously increasing patronage while losing tax based funding. Its toolkit contains, “resources and tools, including news clips, op-eds, and statistics to help library supporters make the case for libraries in tough economic times.” The CLA also provides a Copyright Grassroots Advocacy Kit to address Bill C-32, An Act to amend the Copyright Act. The contents of this kit are "a list of 8 key messages, a sample form letter to your MP, a guide for holding an in-person meeting, and a link to find contact information for your MP. The kit also contains background information, including the latest CLA Position Statement “Protecting the Public Interest in the Digital World: the views of the Canadian Library Association/Association canadienne des bibliothèques on Bill C-32, An Act to amend the Copyright Act." The Australian Library and Information Association offers the Every Member An Advocate kit beginning in September 2010 to complement their Every Member An Advocate workshops, which offers advocacy tools and approaches in all sectors. Banned Books Week takes place every year during the last week of September and brings attention to the library’s mission of supporting intellectual freedom and the importance of the First Amendment. “Observed since 1982, this annual ALA event reminds Americans not to take this precious democratic freedom for granted.” Since 2006, the Canadian Library Association has surveyed library resources and policies challenges. In September 2010, libraries in the United Kingdom joined together to celebrate intellectual freedom by creating and publicizing Banned Books activities. Amnesty International, a human rights organization "directs attention to the plight of individuals who are persecuted because of the writings that they produce, circulate or read." El Día de los Niños is a celebration of children, families and reading that is held on April 30. This celebration “emphasizes the importance of advocating literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds.” "Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library" is a joint project of the Public Library Association and the Association for Library Service to Children Programs, which helps provide parents with tools to help them in, “their critical role as their child’s first teacher."
Summer reading programs meet in many public libraries to support education and literacy while children are on summer breaks from school. Benefits of a Summer Reading Program include “encouragement that reading become[s] a lifelong habit”, “[influencing] reluctant readers [to] be drawn in by the [library's] activities”, “[helping] children keep their [academic] skills up [during the summer break]”, and “[generating] interest in the library and books.” Summer Reading Programs generate important parent and child involvement with libraries and literacy. Canadian Library Month is sponsored by the Canadian Library Association/Association canadienne des bibliothèques.
Public demonstrations Public demonstrations for libraries often take the form of rallies, protests, and read-ins.
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