Light my fire: Advocacy for school libraries
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Isobel Williams, president of the Australian School Library Association, discusses the importance of advocacy for school libraries. She outlines some risks libraries face like funding squeezes and perceptions that libraries are only for books. Effective advocacy involves building long-term relationships, understanding decision-makers' priorities, and telling stories about the transformative impact of libraries. Advocates should target messages to different audiences like principals, teachers, and parents. The goal is to change perceptions and show how libraries benefit students and communities.
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Light my fire: Advocacy for school libraries
- 1. LIGHT MY FIRE A D V O C A C Y F O R S C H O O L L I B R A R I E S P R E S E N T E D B Y I S O B E L W I L L I A M S P R E S I D E N T , A S L A Australian School Library Association Inc.
- 2. Housekeeping Australian School Library Association Inc. Sue Johnston Facilitator for this webinar Housekeeping: Listen-only mode Attendee control panel Question facility Post-webinar information 2
- 3. Introduction Australian School Library Association Inc. 3 Isobel Williams Currently ASLA President, teacher librarian and Year 7 Science teacher at Ogilvie High School in Hobart isobel.williams@education.tas.gov.au
- 4. MOOC Australian School Library Association Inc. 4 Library Advocacy Unshushed - University of Toronto
- 5. Australian School Library Association Inc. 5 Libraries make a difference Libraries are transformative
- 6. Eight foundational values Australian School Library Association Inc. 6 Intellectual freedom Privacy Literacy Rationalism Stewardship Equity Democracy Service
- 7. Risks to libraries Australian School Library Association Inc. 7 Funding squeezes Image - Only providers of information and lenders of books and videos People are confident that they find their own information on the Internet. Questions about the relevance of libraries Untrained volunteers can replace the staff.
- 8. Slogans Australian School Library Association Inc. 8 Heart of the school Every student succeeds @ your library It’s all @ your library Get a fresh start-it’s all @ your library Books, technology and help-it’s all @ your library E-Z term paper.com-it’s all @ your library School Libraries Combat Plagiarism Libraries = Information Literacy Question authority. Ask a librarian
- 9. Advocacy – what it is – and isn’t Australian School Library Association Inc. 9 Promotion Who we are and what we do Marketing Asking what do members want Lobbying Influencing those in government and those who advise them
- 10. Australian School Library Association Inc. 10 Advocacy influence those who make decisions Advocacy
- 11. Australian School Library Association Inc. 11 Advocacy is not a short-term protest activity, but a long-term process of building relationships and understandings
- 12. Perceptions Australian School Library Association Inc. 12
- 13. Australian School Library Association Inc. 13 It is almost impossible to succeed in advocating for unresponsive or ineffective libraries
- 14. Australian numbers Australian School Library Association Inc. 14 Tasmania - 256,000 visits a month Australia – 9,000,000 visits a month 1 librarian per 10,000 population 1.8 library material per person 27% Tasmanians are members The direct benefit to users is perceived to be many times that of the actual investment in the service. Missingham, R 2005,
- 15. Australian School Library Association Inc. 15 People love libraries People value libraries Libraries are seen as essential to the community Libraries are relatively invisible to decision makers From awareness to funding OCLC 2008
- 16. Brand Australian School Library Association Inc. 16
- 17. What we do Australian School Library Association Inc. 17 Story time = “reading readiness program” Bibliography lesson = “ethical information use” Note taking lesson = “prepare for college” Validate information = “critical thinking”
- 18. Role of libraries Australian School Library Association Inc. 18
- 19. Australian School Library Association Inc. 19 Most people support libraries Most people don’t know much about the library Library support is not related to use
- 20. Australian School Library Association Inc. 20
- 21. Decision Makers - Influencers Australian School Library Association Inc. 21 Decision makers Influencers
- 22. Making Decisions Australian School Library Association Inc. 22 Are not rational Facts don’t convince Past experiences Values and beliefs Relationship Priorities
- 23. Influence and persuasion Australian School Library Association Inc. 23 Reciprocation
- 24. Australian School Library Association Inc. 24 Commitment and consistency
- 25. Australian School Library Association Inc. 25 Consensus
- 26. Australian School Library Association Inc. 26 Authority
- 27. Australian School Library Association Inc. 27 Approachable
- 28. Australian School Library Association Inc. 28 Scarcity
- 29. We need to be Australian School Library Association Inc. 29 Well connected Informed about what we do Have stories about the effect on students / teachers Know what matters to principals and their influencers Establish relationships with them Be approachable
- 30. The Power of the Story Australian School Library Association Inc. 30
- 31. Who? Australian School Library Association Inc. 31 Grassroots Senior management State level
- 32. Barriers Australian School Library Association Inc. 32 Too much to do Someone else should do it We are entitled to support Fear Avoidance Protest and demonization Hopelessness Confidence
- 33. Australian School Library Association Inc. 33 No advocacy strategy can compensate for a poor experience with actual libraries
- 34. Values position Australian School Library Association Inc. 34 State the value of the library to your community Explain the benefits Explain the uniqueness Create a story
- 35. Australian School Library Association Inc. 35 Can this effectively create a library brand? Is this showing the library as transformational? Will the message resonate with target audiences? Does the idea make people to see the library differently? Is the idea compelling and motivating? Is the tone of voice appropriate for the library brand?
- 36. Australian School Library Association Inc. 36 Match to audience Segmentation Principals Teachers Senior teachers School executive officers Business managers Parents on School council/ parent association Alumni Who else??
- 37. Australian School Library Association Inc. 37
- 38. Post-webinar information Australian School Library Association Inc. Resource list and certificate of attendance will be emailed Membership information is available at http://www.asla.org.au/membership.aspx Future Webinars http://www.asla.org.au/Professional-learning/webinars.aspx Follow ASLA on Twitter https://twitter.com/aslanational Like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ASLAOnline 38
Editor's Notes
- MOOC - massive open online course
- Research from awareness to funding OCLC Main findings from the research on perceptions of libraries and librarians. Libraries are loved Libraries are seen as important to the community The biggest supporters of libraries are community minded people who believe libraries are transformational forces – BUT these people are not library members. The biggest supporters are not the people who walk through the door…….. This is a huge mind shift Have we not thought that our members are the biggest supports?? This research was about public libraries but I think it serves us too to rethink our perceptions of where our support may come from We need to consider Differences between insider and outsider perceptions. The Significant gaps in the user knowledge of library services and funding. The economic and social impact of libraries on their communities.
- Whether we like it or not the image of the library is books 75% of people will say books when asked for the first word they think of The library brand is books People see the value of the library and they want libraries they have little understanding of what we actually do. Despite a huge background of research showing that school libraries make a difference to student outcome we have seen that FACTS do not hold much sway with the decision makers. What we do remains misunderstood and many of us are struggling We have to be more strategic We have to seek out our biggest supporters and let them carry our message
- The research showed the strongest most consistent support comes from those who believe the library to be essential and valuable even when they do not use a library themselves. You need to be passionate about your belief that the library is a transformational place We are seen as providers of information but there is so much competition in this now Its not about numbers and transactions – its about how the school library can change and improve students lives.
- Not rational often decisions are not rational they are influenced by all sorts of things Presenting facts and expecting people to say – “oh I was wrong” is something we almost never see Past history has much to do with what people will decide Much decision making is based on what you believe and what you value this is often deeply ingrained Having a relationship with someone will make assist in making a decision you are influenced by people you have relationships with – you rarely take advice from a stranger or sounds bites The priorities of the decision makers – what is important – what direction do they want to go in? Decision makers vs stakeholders
- Internal and external motivators & Library supporters/afficiandos
- Simplify Less is more Look at sheet – hand out - crit it