NSLS Blogs

Home » Blogs » Ad Lib: Advocacy for Libraries

RSS

Ad Lib: Advocacy for Libraries

March 30, 2006

ILA Speaks. The Illinois General Assembly Listens.

As a follow-up on Monday’s call to action, ILA has announced that HB 4217 passed by a vote of 57-0. ILA tells us “[t]he bill now goes to the governor for his signature. Based on past experience, it is anticipated that the governor will not take action until June.”

posted by Alan at 2:06 pm | Comments (0)

March 27, 2006

ILA Speaks. You Listen.

You might (or might not) have heard about House Bill 4217, a bit of legislation in the Illinois General Assembly written to clarify how library districts can annex new property. The bill was passed in the House back in January, and is likely to go up for vote in the Senate this week. Because of this, ILA is encouraging everyone to

contact your Senator and express support for HB 4217. If you are unsure of the name of your Senator, please check http://tinyurl.com/9m8ok —- insert your zip code, hit go, then provide your home address to determine your Illinois Senator.

This legislation could, obviously, affect how library districts operate in the future, so it’s best you make your opinion heard on it now.

Further information, including a history of the bill and ILA talking points, can be found below the fold.

read more »

posted by Alan at 10:28 am | Comments (0)

March 23, 2006

Election Results

How about that primary on Tuesday, huh? I hope you all got a chance to get out and vote.

At any rate, the results are in, and now we’re going to let you know who the candidates are in NSLS’s legislative districts. There are 45 seats up for re-election, and the complete details are in the extended entry. Read on!

read more »

posted by Alan at 1:49 pm | Comments (0)

March 10, 2006

Why It’s Not the Library Protection Agency

With the release of the 2007 budget proposals, the administration has suggested cutting the EPA by $2 million; a cut that would, in no small part, be taken from the EPA’s library operating budget. ALA has issued a call to action on this question: “Urge your member of Congress to restore the $2.5 million needed for the EPA libraries to continue to operate at the same level in FY 2007 and to ensure continued public access to the collections and services of EPA Libraries.”

NSLS members being the on-the-ball people they are, though, we first heard about this issue weeks ago when someone asked about it on one of our CoPs. It seemed like something worth looking into, so I e-mailed the EPA’s press secretary, Eryn Witcher, and asked for some additional information. The complete response is below, but here’s the gist of it:

EPA has been looking at enterprise approaches to achieve more and better efficiencies. One area of focus for these enterprise approaches is EPA’s libraries. EPA plans to achieve greater efficiencies in its library program by streamlining EPA’s physical library collections and moving toward a new model that is focused on providing delivery of library services electronically. EPA is committed to providing staff with access to the library services they need to carry out the Agency’s mission-critical functions.

So the 10-cent version: we may be seeing the Google-ization of the EPA’s libraries.

You’ve seen what ALA has to say on the question, and now you see what the EPA’s got to say. The only thing left to know is, what are you going to say?

read more »

posted by Alan at 9:49 am | Comments (0)

March 9, 2006

Get Your Legislators There! – The Advocacy Drum

You’ve already heard it from many quarters, but Ad Lib wants to add our thanks to all our members who came and helped make our Legislative Breakfast a resounding success a few weeks ago! But, more importantly, we want to thank all you who responded to our survey to help make next year’s Breakfast even better!

One comment which we heard repeatedly on the survey was that some people were disappointed their legislator wasn’t there. Unfortunately, it’s a difficult thing to schedule legislators; even those who say they’re going to come often wind up having other last-minute obligations. But we can think of one tool to help make sure as many legislators as possible show up: advocacy!

It’s an old drum, but one we’re going to beat just a little longer. Now is the time to start building your relationships with your legislators, so that when the 2007 Legislative Breakfast comes around, you can personally call them and convince them to attend. We’ll even help you get started: The NSLS site has a wonderful article on tips and hints for advocacy, and the Legislative Directory gives you all sorts of ways to contact your legislators.

While you’ve got their ears, you can certainly make sure to let them know what’s important to you regarding library issues (be it funding, freedom of speech, confidentiality, or what have you), just make sure to mention next year’s Breakfast—already scheduled for February 19, 2007—and how much you want to see them there!

posted by Alan at 2:36 pm | Comments (0)

Advocacy News Updates

Ad Lib went on an unexpected hiatus, but it should be back now. Here’s some of what’s been going on while we’ve been away:

• You may have heard about a little bill called the Patriot Act which has been before Congress for renewal. Well, Congress renewed it and President Bush is expected to sign it into law today. ALA president Michael Gorman is not happy about this.
• State Sen. Adeline Geo-Karis has been hospitalized with the flu, taking her away from her legislative and campaigning duties. “Geo-Karis should be back to work next week, [Geo-Karis campaign manager Louis] Atsaves said.” We at Ad Lib and NSLS wish her a full and speedy recovery.
• Illinois Library Day was a resounding success! Thanks to all who participated. We’re looking forward to next year!

Keep watch here for more advocacy news. If you have something you want to see covered on Ad Lib, leave word in the comments section!

posted by Alan at 10:14 am | Comments (0)