ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 2 6 / C&RL News ■ Ja nuary 1999 A dvo cacy re m a in s th e to o l f o r lib ra ria n s T o m aintain a n d d e v e lo p library s u p p o rt in C ongress a n d elsew h ere, th e prim ary to o l for librarians in all types o f libraries is advocacy. W ith th e sw earin g in o f th e 106th C ongress o n Ja n u a ry 6 co m e s a re n e w e d o p p o rtu n ity to c o n n e c t w ith y o u r co n g ressio n al officials a n d h e lp th e m u n d e rs ta n d th e “acad em ic li­ b ra ry sto ry .” U se w h a te v e r c o n n e c tio n — a friendly alum o f y o u r college, y o u r university’s official lobbyist, o th e r state-e lected officials a n d library s u p p o rte rs— to g e t y o u r m essag e across. Early this fall, ALA p articip ated in a d e m ­ o n stra tio n o f in fo rm a tio n a n d e d u c a tio n a l tech n o lo g y at th e U.S. H o u se o f R ep resen ta­ tives to d em onstrate som e o f th e ALA-selected W eb sites for children. We w e re a c c o m p a ­ n ie d b y C arrie G ardner, a sch o o l library m e ­ d ia sp ecialist from H ershey, P ennsylvania, w h o h e lp e d m a k e o u r b o o th o n e o f th e m ost heavily visited by R epresentatives a n d c o n ­ gressional staff. Why? Carrie b ro u g h t a secret w e a p o n — ch o co la te. W hile e a c h staff m e m b e r w alk ed b y to g e t his o r h e r ch o co la te, u n w ra p p e d it, a n d p u t it in his o r h e r m o u th , w e discu ssed c h ild re n s’ library issues a n d filtering as w ell as c o p y rig h t a n d o th e r issues o f c o n c e rn to all ty p es o f libraries. C hocolate d o e s n ’t w o rk ev ery w h ere, b u t you, too, h a v e a secret w e a p o n to u se in lo b ­ bying— y o u r expertise in libraries. N o o n e can tell y o u r library’s story b e tte r th a n y o u can. You h av e e x p e rie n c e to illustrate th e im p o r­ ta n c e o f g o o d library service o n a cam p u s m o re th a n a n y o n e. You can in terest a legisla­ to r in w h y it’s so im p o rtan t fo r stu d e n ts to learn info rm atio n literacy skills. You d o n ’t h av e to c o m e to W ashington, D.C., o r y o u r state capital. Invite th e legislators to y o u r li­ brary. P erh ap s th e last tim e h e o r sh e w a s o n cam p u s w a s to c h e e r o n th e football te a m o r a tte n d a fundraiser. G etting th em in to y o u r Mary Rae Costabile is assistant director o f ALA's W ashington Office; e-mail: mrc@alawash.org library is y o u r ch an ce to sh o w th em w h at great n e w dev elo p m en ts th ere are in th e libraries an d inform ation science departm ent. It’s y o u r ch an ce to m ake a co nnection that can c o n ­ tinue a n d flow er into su p p o rt for libraries an d their im portant role in academ ic life. T alk a b o u t h o w federal dollars s p e n t o n library a n d h ig h e r e d u c a tio n pro g ram s have e n o rm o u s long-lasting benefits. D escribe the k in d o f inform ation an d tech n o lo g y skills that y o u s e e stu d en ts n e e d to su c c e e d in college a n d in future jobs. Share w ith th e m th e kinds o f d e m a n d s p la c e d o n college a n d university libraries to p ro v id e electro n ic inform ation to increasingly so p h isticated h ig h sch o o l g ra d u ­ ates. R esolve this y e a r to: • G et to k n o w y o u r legislators a n d staff; tell th e library story! • G et legislators into y o u r library, create a n ev en t, h a v e th e m discuss an y h o t to p ic o f in terest to y o u r students. H ow a b o u t the c e n ­ sus in 2000? P rovide press. H elp th e m get so m e publicity in y o u r c a m p u s a n d local p a ­ p ers a b o u t th eir visit. • A ttend th e ALA ad v o cacy training (Sun­ day, Jan. 31, 9:30 a.m .—12:30 p .m .); g e t y o u r c o lleag u es to g e th e r a n d re q u e s t a program . • V olunteer fo r legislative com m ittees/net- w orks. • P articipate in state a n d n ational Library Legislative Days; w h e n yo u d o this w ith a friend o r tw o it’s fun a n d gets easier every time. • R esp o n d to calls for action. Write, call, fax, a n d e-m ail legislators a n d g e t th e latest action alerts b y signing o n to th e ALA W ash­ in g to n O ffice’s ALAWON. (To su b scrib e to ALAWON, se n d th e m essage: su b scrib e ala- w o [y o u r _ fir s tn a m e ] [y o u r _ la s tn a m e ] to listproc@ ala.org o r g o to h ttp ://w w w .a la .o rg / w a sh o ff/a la w o n .) Follow re la te d ACRL legis­ lative n o tices a n d w o rk w ith y o u r state li­ b rary associations. • A lw ay s th a n k y o u r le g is la to r s a n d fo llo w u p w ith reg u lar co n tac t w ith th em a n d th eir staff. R em em ber, a legislator alw ays p ay s a tte n ­ tio n to co n stitu en ts. You are th e chocolate, th e secret w e a p o n . P ut y o u rself in action. ■ W a s h i n g t o n H o t l i n e Mary Rae Costabile mailto:mrc@alawash.org mailto:listproc@ala.org http://www.ala.org/ C&RL N ew s ■ J a n u a ry 1999 / 2 7