May 10 is National Library Legislative Day (NLLD) and it only takes a minute of your time to make a difference! All you need is Internet access and a Twitter account.

To learn more about other ways can advocate for library services to teens specifically, visit http://tinyurl.com/YAadvocate.  Thank you for all that you do to ensure teens have access to great library services and resources and thank you to YALSA’s Legislation Committee for creating this advocacy tool!

1. Make sure you’re logged into your Twitter account
2. Visit YALSA’s Google map of U.S. Senators
3. Click on the push pin in your state
4. Click on the “Tweet Me” link
5. Click on the “Tweet” button (the text of the message has already been created & appears in the text box)
6. Encourage others to do this by forwarding the link of the map to them, adding the link to your Facebook page, blog or web site, etc.

National Library Legislative Day is only a week away…your event is planned, or if you are traveling to the Capital, your arrangements are made. On May 10th, you will have the complete attention of your congressional representatives….but what do you say?

YALSA is here to help with a list of 2011 National Library Legislative Day Talking Points This list provides a look at all the different issues of importance that teens and their library communities are facing, as well as some of the ways that everyone can get involved and help out.

Some of the major issues are:

• Improving Literacy Through School Libraries
• the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA)
• Including School Librarians in the Elementary 7 Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
• Advocating for Teens to Have Access to Information, Access to Trained Professionals, and Access for Libraries.

This resource gives you background information on the issue and essential pointers to help you get the word out about them.

So, if you are wondering what to say to your legislator when you are writing your postcard during your own Contact a Congressional Member party or are trying to put together what to say during your 15 minute in person appointment, this resource will help you!

This is the week to start planning your party-your “Contact a Congressperson Party” that is! On May 10th people all over the country will be contacting their legislative representatives via virtual means or in-person to let them know how important libraries are to teens and their communities.

You, too, can get your communities involved in this important event! YALSA provides a ton of different resources and tips on organizing such an event on the National Library Legislative Day Wiki.

Some of the tips include:

• Focusing on one communication tool for the event such as Twitter, cell phones, email, or postcards.
• Using social networking tools and fliers to announce and advertise your event.
• Collecting personal success stories and publications about your library to share with representatives.

It also links you with many possible tools and resources to help your party complete its mission such as:

• YALSA’s 2011 National Library Legislative Day List of Talking Points
• YALSA’s Legislative Advocacy Guide
• 10 Things Congressional Staff Hate to Hear

And, these are just a few of the things featured on the wiki. The time to get involved is now. YALSA is here to help you get the party started and advocate for your teens and libraries today!

Want to advocate for your libraries? Want the chance for your legislators to hear what you have to say on National Library Legislative Day? Not sure how to make this happen when you lack the funds to travel?

There is an answer! The American Library Association will be hosting a virtual NLLD for all those who want to give their support but are limited in their ability to travel to the capital. You can still be part of the effort by calling, emailing, or writing your representatives on  May 10th or even the entire week of May 9-13.

To help you in getting your message crafted and to your elected officials, ALTAFF  and I Love Libraries have set up, on their respective websites www.ala.org/altaff and www.ilovelibraries.org, informative talking points and links, contact information, and promotional materials.

Even if you can’t be a physical presence on Capital Hill on NLLD, you can still be a vocal one! Start accessing the resources today, and take this unique opportunity to have your voice heard! The more the better!

The future of libraries is in our hands. Over the course of two days, librarians and library advocates have the unique opportunity to have their voices heard by the elected leaders of this country. National Library Legislative Day will be taking place on Monday, May 9th and Tuesday, May 10th.

It is easy to register…ALA has a National Library Legislative Day webpage that makes getting involved a snap. On this page, one can look at photos from NLLD 2009, register for the event, and even reserve a hotel room for the duration.

For those who are first-time participants, there will be an informative training session entitled “Introduction to National Library Legislative Day: How to Make Your Participation Effective,” on Sunday, May 8th at the ALA Washingtion Off ice from 3:00-5:30 p.m.  

There are so many issues on the table that affect librarians, libraries, and the millions of patrons and communities out there.  All of the legislative representatives need to hear about why it is so important to support libraries when it comes to issues such as  Access, Copyright, Broadband and Telecommunications development, as well as many others.

Are you registered? What are you waiting for? Libraries need Advocates!!!! Libraries need YOU!!!

Are you interested in advocacy related issues? Looking to get more information about how to become an advocate or become a better one? Need solutions to some advocacy issues? Or, are you just looking to be able to make some connections and share important information about advocacy resources with other librarians, teens, community members, and trustees?

YALSA has introduced a new resource to help us out! It is an open email discussion list that anyone can join to get more information about advocacy or to just share and reflect on ideas. To get more information about it or to join the list go to http://lists.ala.org/wws/info/yadvocacy-l Once you have  subscribed to the list, you can send messages to yadvocacyl@ala.org. With National Library Legislation Day fast approaching, this forum would be the perfect place to get some ideas to attract your Legislators’ attentions and get their support!

Share this resource with your teens, your colleagues, your administrators, and most importantly your community! Advocating for our libraries is absolutely essential! Start some necessary conversations today!

Every day we read in the news about how libraries are facing more and more cuts; each day we read about another librarian losing his/her job or a school losing its librarians altogether.

As I see it, we have only two choices here: (more…)

Librarians know more than anyone how important it is right now for our profession and our advocates to speak up for libraries — to rally our communities behind our libraries and to encourage our elected officials to support funding and policies for libraries. Next Tuesday, June 29, the ALA Washington Office is sponsoring Library Advocacy Day on the Hill, beginning with a rally at 11 a.m. Eastern to which the public — and you — are invited.

If you’re attending ALA Annual Conference or live near DC: Join YALSA at the rally, wear read, and bring your teens and any other library advocates you k now! We would love to have your support. The more people we can bring to Library Advocacy Day, the more impact we have on legislators, letting them know that librarians are a force to be reckoned with.  For more information on the rally, see the Library Advocacy Day website at www.ala.org/lad and YALSA’s information on participating in the rally.

Unable to attend: Of course, not everyone can make it to the rally in DC on Tuesday. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be part of Library Advocacy Day! We’re also hosting Virtual Library Advocacy Day.  Show your support for libraries the week of June 28-July 2 by participating in Virtual Library Advocacy Week. A simple phone call or e-mail is all it takes.  To send an e-mail, go to Capwiz and click on the issue you are interested in.  The website will take you to a sample form letter.  Customize it with stories on what your local library is doing to help people look for jobs or gain digital literacy skills as well as other programs. These examples truly matter to your elected officials. Looking for more tools for advocacy? See YALSA’s Advocacy Wiki and our District Days page. Learn more about how to participate in Virtual Library Advocacy Day!

In both cases, feel free to post to Twitter about what you’ve done and use the hashtag #LAD2010.

Thank you for all you do for teens and libraries in your community. Your voice, along with over a thousand advocates rallying on Capitol Hill on the 29th, will raise awareness about the important work that libraries and librarians do on a daily basis to help kids learn to read, help people find jobs, and so much more.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee is seeking input from the educational community’s key stakeholders including parents, teachers, librarians, students & administrators on needed changes to the current federal education law, feedback on the Obama Administration’s “Blueprint for Reform” and any other education related ideas stakeholders may want to share. HELP is a bipartisan committee that has started the process of reauthorizing the federal education bill, known as Elementary & Secondary Education Act (ESEA).  The “Blueprint for Reform” can be accessed at

http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/blueprint/blueprint.pdf

Individuals are invited to submit comments until Friday, May 7th by sending them to ESEAcomments@help.senate.gov. This is a key opportunity to let elected officials know about the essential role that school librarians and school libraries play in student achievement.  Please take a few minutes to email your comments to the Senate committee and encourage library supporters to do the same.

For help with developing your comments, you may want to read the testimony of Jaime Greene, a school librarian who testified before the HELP Committee earlier today: http://tinyurl.com/34xahs2 .  Other good resources with information about the important role school libraries play is www.ala.org/additup and AASL’s advocacy page on their web site: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/aaslissues/advocacy/advocacy.cfm

One important issue to include in your comments is to let the Committee know how important the highly rated Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program is.  In his FY2011 budget request, President Obama consolidated Improving Literacy Through School Libraries with five other literacy programs. This would mean that the only federal funding specifically earmarked for school libraries would disappear.  Instead, school libraries will have to directly compete with dissimilar programs to receive federal dollars under the President’s plan.  However, Congress is drafting their own budget for FY2011 right now, and there is no word yet if they will go along with President Obama’s recommendation of consolidation.  Hearing from you could help save the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program.

Please pass this item on to friends, colleagues, etc. and encourage them to send their comments to the HELP Committee.  Thanks for all that you do to ensure young people have access to excellent library staff and resources!

Yesterday I was in Washington, D.C. with hundreds of other librarians for National Library Legislative Day.  It was inspiring to see so many people come out for this event (I saw some familiar YALSA faces there with their state delegations.)  As it was my first time at this event I was a bit unsure what to expect.  Since we talk a lot about a barrier to advocacy being lack of confidence, I thought you might like to know a bit about what it was like. (more…)