Lobby Day Prep

Description: This session will prepare you for participating in Lobby Day. There will be an asynchronous, recorded video session to watch, and then an optional live Q&A session via Zoom (which will also be recorded).

Date: Live Q&A session - Wednesday, February 19, 2025, 9:00a.m.-10:00a.m.

Location: Zoom--online meeting platform

Session Coordinators: Amy Shipley (970-243-6514) and Kelsey Ashton (614-477-6298)

No pre-session homework.

Outcome 1: Understand the purpose of Lobby Day and their responsibilities.

• • Objective: Explain the purpose of Lobby Day.

  • Objective: Describe your responsibilities for Lobby Day.

Outcome 2: Prepare an advocacy plan for Lobby Day.

• • Objective: Explain the specific issue you are advocating for.

  • Objective: Demonstrate why that specific issue is important to your audience.

Outcome 3: Examine how your StrengthsFinder strengths may support or hinder your advocacy efforts.

• • Objective: Predict how your strengths may support your advocacy plan.

  • Objective: Predict how your strengths may hinder your advocacy plan.

  • Objective: Relate your strengths to your advocacy plan.

Link to live recorded Lobby Day Q&A session: https://drive.google.com/file/d/10gMf2MUHSjyxFjVX32XhMioN82y-SxER/view?usp=drive_link

When we look at advocacy more broadly, discover an issue you can advocate for, and create a plan for doing that, if it’s different from the standard lobby day expectations (below)

• Meet with leadership or administrator/s at your institution to find out what issues need to be addressed

• Communicate with them about the expectation of CALLI to advocate for an issue

• Talk with them about a plan for advocating for change on the identified issues

• Goal is to get buy-in from leadership at your institution on your plan to advocate for an issue

• Who might you partner with on the issue to gain numbers, influence, strength

Standard Lobby Day Expectations:

• Figure out who your legislators are

• Schedule a meeting with at least one of your legislators (partner with other CALLI participants)

• Meeting doesn’t have to be at lobby day

• What to do if you get no response from your legislator

• Potentially reach out to staff of legislators and talk to them about what libraries are doing and about the issue you’re advocating for

Lobby Day Attendance Expectations:

• Parking

• Where to meet

• Agenda/schedule for the day

• Library of things items? Show and tell items?

How to handle the "awkward standing around" at Lobby Day:

• • Team up on common lobbying issues or common legislators

  • Walk around and see the capitol building

  • Sit in on the legislative session (in the viewing balcony)

  • Ask your legislator to take you onto the floor of the legislative session

  • Make a goal to talk to five people and then implement that goal

Lobby Day Prep Collaborative Document

Lobby Day Volunteer Information

Advocacy Session Review slide answers

American Libraries Article

ACLU Article

Find my Colorado legislator 

Lobby Day Planning Worksheet

2025 CAL Library Day at the Capitol Pledge Form

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1t1eBA2cW0zQatDD8gToaHpAUtcPewLMDPxgE7Go_rUc/prefill