Want to get involved in advocating for libraries? Participate in Library Advocacy Day! This national event, coordinated by the American Library Association’s Washington Office (ALA-WO), will be held in Washington, DC on Tuesday, June 29th in conjunction with the American Library Association Annual Conference. (Conference registration is not required to participate in Library Advocacy Day.)
Rally
Library Advocacy Day (LAD) will include a rally at Upper Senate Park on Capitol Hill at 11:00am to demonstrate support for libraries. The states with the most participants will be given space near the front. Since Maryland is in close proximity to Washington, DC, we have an opportunity to have high participation! Libraries may want to consider using a library vehicle to carpool to the event.
6/23/2010 Update: Look for the Maryland sign! ALA is providing signs for each of the states so that people can easily find colleagues. At this point, there are at least 100 people registered from Maryland, out of about 1200 total from around the country, so we are very well represented!
Legislator Visits
After the rally, people are encouraged to visit their legislators. In Maryland, in order to present an organized advocacy effort, formal meetings with legislators will be coordinated through the Maryland Library Association’s Legislative Panel. If you are interested in participating in the scheduled meetings, please contact Natalie Edington, the state LAD coordinator and the Federal Coordinator of the Legislative Panel, at nedington@aacpl.net. If you do not wish to participate in the meetings, but would like to show your support, you are encouraged to stop by your legislators’ offices and present your “palm cards.” (“Palm cards” will be distributed during the Annual Conference and at the rally. You will be able to write your name and library on the card.)
Training – 6/11/2010 Update
Webinar – This webinar gives more information about Library Advocacy Day, the Rally and visiting legislators.
Training at ALA Conference – This training session is based on the webinar above, but will include more information on federal legislation and issues. Anyone may attend this free training session and you do not have to be registered for the ALA Conference.
6/18/2010 Update: Issue Briefs – ALA has posted issue briefs giving background information and what action is needed on various legislation and issues that impact libraries.
6/23/2010 Update: A few more opportunities to ask questions about Library Advocacy Day and advocacy during the ALA Conference.
6/23/2010 Update: Someone asked if there are any specific issues or messages that Maryland libraries would like to share. A few suggestions for Maryland messages are provided.
Registration
You can register for LAD online using this registration form. (Scroll down and click on “Register Now.”) Registration is FREE. Registration is not required, but is encouraged, as it will be used to get a rough idea of the number of participants. You do not have to be registered for the Annual Conference in order to participate in the rally. If you are having trouble registering, check out the registration guide.
6/1/2010 Update: If you are having problems registering and the registration guide does not help, please call Experion at 800-974-3084. Experion is the vendor assisting ALA with conference registration and they would be happy to help anyone who is struggling with the website.
Volunteering
ALA-WO has asked for volunteers to help with the event. If you are interested in volunteering, you may register as a volunteer using this volunteer registration form. (Scroll down to “If you’d like to volunteer for this event, tell us a little about yourself.” and click on the link.) Then someone from the ALA Washington Office will contact you about a specific assignment.
6/11/2010 Update: The video of the webinar for people volunteering to help with the Library Advocacy Day Rally is now available online. (See earlier announcement for details on the webinar.)
Virtual Library Advocacy Week
6/25/2010 Update: Even if you can’t participate in Library Advocacy Day in Washington, DC on June 29th, you can still make your voice heard! During the week of June 28th, contact your legislators by phone or online using Capwiz. For more information, check out the Maryland Library Association Legislative Panel’s blog posting.
6/18/2010 Update: Can’t make it to Library Advocacy Day on June 29
th? Participate in the Virtual Library Advocacy Day! Join the ALA Washington Office on Monday, June 21
st for a webinar on the Virtual Library Advocacy Day to learn more. For webinar details and registration information, see the
District Dispatch posting.
National Library Legislative Day
If you are familiar with the National Library Legislative Day event, then Library Advocacy Day is a one-year substitute for this. After much discussion and receiving input from members of the library community from across the country, ALA-WO made the decision to change the traditional National Library Legislative Day event in May to this Library Advocacy Day in June during the Annual Conference. They felt that since many libraries were experiencing tight budgets, they would be unable to travel to Washington, DC in both months. They also felt this was an opportunity to engage new participants and new advocates. This is meant to be a one-time change.
More Information
For more information, check out this FAQ from ALA-WO and modified with details specific to Maryland.
NEW! You may also check out the Rally memo from ALA-WO for information on logistics for the Rally.
5/27/2010 Update: To learn more about the Rally, watch the video of the webinar “What to Know Before You Go to the Library Advocacy Day Rally.”
Legislative Panel of the Maryland Library Association 