Advocacy
Being able to demonstrate the impact your library is having on the community can convince decision makers, funders and voters to support your library. Find resources to help gather evidence, use data, and tell the stories that demonstrate the value of the library and show the return on investment it brings to the community. Learn how to amplify your library's value so that you may continue to make a difference in people's lives.
Explore the Advocacy in Action section to learn more about the vital role of public libraries and how to educate the public about the critical funding issues many libraries face. Materials, resources and support are available to libraries who want to engage the support of local community members through fun and innovative campaigns.
Self-paced courses and webinar recordings on this topic are freely available in the WebJunction Course Catalog.
Most Recently Added
Voter Perceptions of Libraries: Getting From Awareness to Funding in 2018
Webinar / Last Modified: 02 May 2019
A webinar presenting the results of a new study investigating voter perceptions and support for public libraries, with comparisons to similar research conducted 10 years ago.
Getting to the Heart of the Community Through Discovery
Webinar / Last Modified: 24 April 2019
This webinar presents tools, methodologies and strategies that can be used to gather input and uncover the heart and aspirations of your community.
Take Action: Using and Presenting Research Findings to Make Your Case
Webinar / Last Modified: 17 January 2019
Part three of a three-part series on evaluating and sharing your library's impact, focused on presenting data to make the case for how your library plays a critical role in your community.
The Engaged and Embedded Library
News / Last Modified: 19 December 2018
Civic engagement is not a new concept for libraries, which have long been active community hubs. However, in this age of library transformation, it is time to escalate the scale of community engagement. On one level, it is survival; it is also the na...
Small Libraries, Big Thinking
News / Last Modified: 31 October 2018
Library Journal's annual Best Small Library in America Award, cosponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, was created in 2005 to discover and reward exemplary work by libraries serving populations under 25,000, and to showca...
Webinar Series: Evaluating and Sharing Your Library's Impact
News / Last Modified: 18 October 2018
Ensure your library's programs and services are meeting patrons' needs and exceeding expectations by using evaluation techniques that demonstrate results. This three-part webinar series on user-centered assessment and evaluation will help you go from...
Revitalizing Library Volunteer Engagement
Webinar / Last Modified: 18 September 2018
This webinar explores new trends in library volunteerism and presents practical steps to recruit skilled volunteers to help grow your community of library advocates and supporters.
From Awareness to Funding: 5 Probable Supporters and How to Reach Them
News / Last Modified: 11 September 2018
If you work or volunteer in a library, you may have heard about the report, From Awareness to Funding: Voter Perceptions and Support of Public Libraries in 2018. If you haven’t read it, here’s the good news: compared to 2008, more voters thi...
Are You Ready to Dig into Assessment Data?
News / Last Modified: 28 August 2018
Back in April, WebJunction and OCLC Research hosted the first webinar in a three-part series on assessing, evaluating and sharing your library’s impact. With nearly 300 attendees in the first session, we know that this topic is important to libraries...
Getting Unstuck: Help Your Board, Staff, and Town Talk about Library Funding
Webinar / Last Modified: 22 August 2018
A webinar hosted in collaboration with ARSL and EveryLibrary to grow skills for talking about library budgets with staff, boards, and other stakeholders in your community and to secure funding.
