Articulate the critical value of a marketing approach to delivering services.
Artifact--a single Journal Entry for LIS 701-Introduction to Library and Information Science, beginning with the journal entry prompt, which was one of several choices for this particular week:
Summarize and respond to Ken Haycock's lecture on advocacy
The main premise of Ken Haycock’s lecture is that library advocacy is not something that should only happening in lobbying efforts within specific periods of time, like lobbying days, nor should it be limited to only crisis times when library budgets are hanging in the balance in the halls of government. Rather, advocacy is something that is supposed to be happening constantly, and it should be driven largely by building relationships. This effort that occurs over time is what builds and sustains support for libraries.
One of the problems with libraries is that people view them as something nice to have, but not as something essential. So the important ideas for librarians to communicate are how libraries are a critical part of the infrastructure of a community, and the value of libraries’ transformative power. Librarians must spend time with government officials and others in the community to communicate this important concept. When the powers that be in the community get to know librarians, they build relationships of trust.
In doing advocacy work effectively, librarians need better strategies. Often, lobbying days involve recruiting volunteers who are passionate about a stance on an issue, but don’t communicate their ideas effectively. As such, legislative lobbying days often have no benefits, but are only done because people would wonder why they aren’t happening if they aren’t. So librarians need to spend time collaborating with community partners and government officials. Even if libraries can’t benefit right away, persistence in building relationships with their partners brings benefit in the long run. Haycock uses the example of the auto industry’s advocacy efforts involving very structured groups of people who are trained to meet and communicate well with government officials, with annual turnover, which he holds up as an example. Librarians have to constantly and actively do what will build relationships, not focusing on the issues, but the value of the library as a whole.
What Haycock says makes sense to me, but I take issue with his wording. These actions he suggests libraries take don’t indicate advocacy to me: Rather, they really suggest the idea of relationship building in active ways. We in society tend to think of advocacy in terms of lobbying days to argue against cuts for services or for/against a certain piece of legislation. But I don’t see advocacy as some kind of sustained, long-term effort in the way he describes these relationship building efforts. Even though he emphasizes the need for librarians to engage proactively in specific, tangible actions, the his major argument is growing relationships, as part of the regular operations of the library.
For example, my hometown library, the Oak Park Public Library, has a page on its website listing all the community organizations with which it partners. At the top of the list is this statement: “Turning outward translates into teaming with others. The library works regularly with these government and community organizations in and around Oak Park to create transformational change with a measurable impact” (OPPL). The OPPL is definitely promoting itself, but not through what I would deem “advocacy”, but rather regular relationships with these community entities, and it only makes sense for the library to do so, because its existence is all about serving its community.
Libraries can also take advantage of opportunities to promote themselves through long-term projects, which is, again, a matter of the regular work they do. Recently, President Obama held a town hall event at Anacostia Neighborhood Library in Washington, D.C., using the event as an opportunity “to announce new partnerships to expand access to free books for America’s students, and to ensure every student has easy access to their local library and the wealth of knowledge and resources it can provide” (Smith and Muñoz). The blog post on the White House’s website acknowledges the importance of libraries: “For generations, our nation’s public libraries have been hubs of lifelong learning. For youth with access to few resources, they help bridge the gap between school and home, and ensure continued access to educational resources” (Smith and Muñoz). The ConnectEd Challenge is in large part about schools. But President Obama is incorporating libraries in the new initiatives he announced: “First, the ConnectED Library Challenge -- an effort to put a library card in the hand of every student, and with it access to the potentially life-changing resources of their local library” (Smith and Muñoz). He also announced an initiative to expand access to the technology that allows more children to have access to ebooks, to provide them quality learning.
So Haycock is right to emphasize the necessity of libraries’ building relationships with officials and organizations, which I feel is not advocacy, but a regular part of libraries’ functions.
Outside Sources
Oak Park Public Library. (n.d.) About: Community Organizations. Oak Park Public Library. Retrieved on May 1, 2015, from http://oppl.org/about/community-organizations
Smith, M. and Muñoz, C. (2015.) ConnectED: Open Books and Open Doors. The White House. [Web log post]. Retrieved on May 1, 2015, from https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/04/30/connected-open-books-and-open-doors?utm_source=snapshot&utm_medium=email&utm_content=4302015-topper
Explanation Paragraph:
Marketing and advocating for libraries is a critical part to ensuring people continue being aware of what libraries have to offer, being facilitators of access to information. Listening to and reflecting on Ken Haycock’s lecture was the first significant opportunity I had to think thoroughly about all the ins and outs of library advocacy. I learned a lot about useful talking points to use when dialoging with other members of the community about libraries, even government officials, as well as the mindset that’s important to have so that advocacy efforts are effective. The major take-away for me was how crucial it is to build relationships. Furthermore, in this journal entry, I went further by applying what I learned from the lecture to real-life situations, in my own community, and in the United States at large. That was an opportunity for me to make these principles more real.