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
Digging into Assessment Data: Tips, Tricks, and Tools of the Trade
Webinar / Last Modified: 14 August 2018
Part two of a three-part series on evaluating and sharing your library's impact, focused on exploring tools and methods for collecting and analyzing the data.
Getting Unstuck: Help Your Board, Staff, and Town Talk about Library Funding
Webinar / Last Modified: 13 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.
User-centered Assessment: Leveraging What You Know and Filling in the Gaps
Webinar / Last Modified: 10 August 2018
Part one of a three-part series on evaluating and sharing your library's impact, beginning with planning the evaluation and taking inventory of known and needed assessment data.
Take Action: Using and Presenting Research Findings to Make Your Case
Webinar / Last Modified: 10 August 2018
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.
Revitalizing Library Volunteer Engagement
Webinar / Last Modified: 07 August 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.
Are You Ready to Dig into Assessment Data?
News / Last Modified: 18 July 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...
Engaged Planning: Ask What You Can Do For Your Rural Community
Webinar / Last Modified: 17 July 2018
A webinar presented in collaboration with ARSL outlining the steps of an engaged planning process, to align library capabilities with community needs and aspirations.
Engage Your Community when Planning for Change
News / Last Modified: 17 July 2018
Your role in your public library elevates you to a community leader and change agent. No matter your formal title or the size of your library, you have the opportunity to meet and evolve with your communities' changing needs. As a central learning an...
Great Ideas for Innovative Community Engagement
News / Last Modified: 13 July 2018
A recent Huffington Post article tells of a Facebook experiment that spawned over 150 community-generated ideas on the future of Miami's libraries. Rebecca Fishman Lipsey and Francine Madera, in 100 Great Ideas for the Future of Libraries -- A Ne...
Core Library Value: Tools for telling it over and over
News / Last Modified: 22 May 2018
With all of the library advocacy tools and efforts in play, one might hope to never again read an op-ed piece that claims the library is a dying institution in this age of Google and smartphones. However, the message has not reached everyone in spite...
