Good Morning, YALSA!
I am pleased to be part of YALSA’s “28 Days of Advocacy” project.  I want to congratulate the YALSA leadership for this initiative.

The YALSA initiative fits right in with my passion for libraries and for library advocacy.  In fact, my presidential initiative for next year is member-driven, frontline advocacy.  And, by that I mean — it is everybody’s business to advocate for libraries.

I know that many of us think that advocacy is the director’s or the management team’s job.  But, think how more effective we would be if all teen librarians were involved in advocating for their libraries and teen services to their friends, relatives, and neighbors.  Collaborating with YALSA, I want to engage you in that process and prepare you to do frontline advocacy.

Libraries are being used more now than ever before.   Our teens are as important as any other user of our libraries.   We need to be proactive and prepared to advocate for our libraries and to articulate their value to all of our communities.

Our services and our jobs are on the line.  It’s my business as ALA President-elect and your business as young adult librarians to be prepared to advocate for what you do and why your services and resources are critical to your communities.

YALSA’s  28 Days to Advocacy is just the beginning.  For more information on my Initiative which supports YALSA’s advocacy efforts please go to:

http://www.camilaalire.com/initiatives.html

Again, it was my pleasure to be involved in YALSA’s 28 Days to Advocacy.

I wish you all the best in this initiative and in all you advocacy efforts.  And I look forward to working with YALSA in their advocacy efforts.

CAMILA ALIRE, ALA President-elect