Renee Gentry

 Active support of an idea or cause  We need to be heard!

 Talking with legislators  Within our professional organizations  Within our school and district

◦ Stephanie Vance – presenter at NCSLMA tm ◦ Know your legislator (party, their special interests) ◦ Build relationships (staff) ◦ Talk to the right person – ask who handles library issues ◦ Educate and inform but also have special stories about real people ◦ Have a clear, specific, and POSITIVE message ◦ Follow up at a later date ◦ Invite Legislators and School officials to library events at your school

◦ Join an organization - ALA, AASL, NCSLMA, etc. ◦ Join the NCSLMA list serve ◦ Network and meet people at conferences ◦ Volunteer ◦ Present a session at conference ◦ Assist at the conference

◦ Be heard – talk about what you do to your principal, teachers, parents, & students ◦ Fill your calendar – empty spots in your schedule look like you have free time – write on your calendar when you are doing admin work such as shelving or processing books. Make teachers aware that you ARE doing your job.

◦ Know quotable facts about your library  Numbers of books circulated  Number of students you see weekly  Etc. ◦ Publicize your events – talk it up, newspaper, school web site, etc. ◦ Attract attention – in a good way of course – make the library fun ◦ Read- articles, ways others have been successful. ◦ What can we do in Wilkes?

 Creating a mission statement for your school library program is and essential first step to knowing what message should be shared with your school community.  Send an via your school’s parent distribution list about how the monies from the successful Book Fair will benefit the school’s library program. Dollar amounts are not necessary, but a well-worded “Thank You” with this information is always well- received.  Start small. Talk about your successes one teacher at a time and share the credit.

 When teachers pick up students at the end of class, be sure to mention college-career readiness learning activities you engaged the students in.  Invite students from a nearby high school to read with younger students in your school library after school, or encourage your high school students to tutor younger students at a nearby elementary school. This is a win-win situation.  Have a student write an article for the school newsletter or community paper that tells why the school library is important to them, or that addresses a special issue that is important for the school library to communicate.

 Host at least one program for students in your school library during the school year. To make it easier, collaborate with a school department and share the responsibilities.  To bring the school library program outside the walls of the library post photos/artwork on the walls of the school to get kids talking and thinking about material to be presented in a lesson.

 Have a bookmark competition in which students design and then the entire student body votes on best bookmark. The top three can then be printed and distributed throughout the year.  Turn up the power with word of mouth… Add your school library program’s mission statement to the signature line of your .  Write an article for your PTA newsletter. Attend PTA meetings and get on the agenda.

◦ Stephanie Vance presentation at NCSLMA November 3 rd, 2010 ◦ AASL Advocacy Tip of the Day manage.com/subscribe?u=9011bdd5ff860316c0afae3f0&i d=bcb45fea1bhttp://aasl.us1.list- manage.com/subscribe?u=9011bdd5ff860316c0afae3f0&i d=bcb45fea1b ◦ ALA Office for Library Advocacy ◦ AASL Advocacy Toolkit s/aasladvocacy.cfm s/aasladvocacy.cfm ◦ NCSLMA Advocacy ◦ Act 4 School Libraries ◦ I Love Libraries.org ◦ Library Advocacy Brochure by the Illinois Library Association