Building Strong Library Associations | Regional Convenings DAY 2 Session 7 How will I get support for my proposal?

Building Strong Library Associations | Regional Convenings At the end of this session participants should be able to: Understand the nature of advocacy and describe some strategies for advocating for their association’s proposal. Be able to write a letter to gain support for their proposal Outcomes for participants

Building Strong Library Associations | Regional Convenings In the activity you will. Identify the key people you will need to persuade of the merits of the development proposal Identify who should be responsible for the advocacy work Identify how they will best gain support e.g. letters, meetings etc. Draft a letter advocating for your proposal Preparing for the activity

Building Strong Library Associations | Regional Convenings Advocacy seeks to change attitudes, policies, positions and/or practices by particular groups or persons. “A planned, deliberate, sustained effort to raise awareness of an issue or issues. Advocacy is thus an ongoing process where support and understanding are built incrementally.” Canadian Association of Public Libraries. (2001). Library Advocacy NOW! Training Workbook Retrieved from What is advocacy

Building Strong Library Associations | Regional Convenings Action oriented Planned Sustained Evaluated and modified Key elements of advocacy

Building Strong Library Associations | Regional Convenings Reasons to advocate: Improve understanding of the role of libraries. Other associations are doing it – can we afford not to? To effect change To establish credibility or raise profile It can assist in planning for the future To reach a more diverse audience for your services Why advocate

Building Strong Library Associations | Regional Convenings Internal – the association e.g. members External – outside the association e.g. government on a funding issue Types of audience

Building Strong Library Associations | Regional Convenings Timing – advocacy campaigns might be short or long term Political – campaigns might have political components, but not always Planned – a campaign will need a plan, which begins with an understanding of the above issues Your Action Plan will be a type of advocacy plan What might advocacy look like in practice?

Building Strong Library Associations | Regional Convenings Cultural considerations might impact the answer to this question. Champions – influential people with profile Library staff – professional support Association staff - obviously Volunteers – those who support the association in an unpaid capacity Who should advocate?

Building Strong Library Associations | Regional Convenings Board members/trustees Friends groups Community members Hired consultants All of the above! Who should advocate?

Building Strong Library Associations | Regional Convenings Research an issue Write a paper/submission Make a presentation Hand out leaflets Staff a booth Be a trainer Fundraise Wear campaign clothes or badges What does an advocate do?

Building Strong Library Associations | Regional Convenings To determine the target audience ask the following: Who do you want to reach? What do you know about them, their priorities and interests? What do you need to find out? Who do you know who might give you the information you want? What research might you need to do? Who do you know who may be able to help in some other way? Who might be targeted?

Building Strong Library Associations | Regional Convenings Politicians and other officials Members Community Donors Media representatives Other associations Examples of target audiences

Building Strong Library Associations | Regional Convenings Member issues Professional role and image Specific issues Copyright Access New technologies Consult the handout Typical issues for advocacy campaigns

Building Strong Library Associations | Regional Convenings Consult the handout Challenges and pitfalls

Building Strong Library Associations | Regional Convenings Work in association teams, using proposal handout. Identify the key people to target in your association. What do you need from each of these people Identify communication methods for gaining their support for the proposal – letter, meeting etc Activity – advocacy for your proposal

Building Strong Library Associations | Regional Convenings Choose someone identified in the previous activity. Using the template for writing an advocacy letter, draft a letter to one of the people identified in the previous activity where a letter is an appropriate strategy. Activity – letter writing