[Publib] Re: Advocacy (was WI librarians demoted)

[Fred Beisser]

Well stated, Wendy. We always need to impart a carefully tailored 
message to our audience(s) that emphasizes the benefits that libraries 
bring to their particular interests as well as the community and our 
stakeholders.

Fred Beisser
Trustee
www.elbertcountylibrary.org
(Colorado)

Wendy Cornelisen wrote:

> I agree that we need to advocate for librarians and libraries; can you 
> really have a library without librarians? They may try, but it will 
> quickly devolve into a bookstore, IMHO.
>  
> Tennessee Library Legislative Day was last week. Before lunch with 
> local legislators, we had a great presentation by Stephanie Vance, the 
> Advocacy Guru. She talked a lot about tailoring your message to the 
> specific interests of your local politician. Anyone can say they love 
> libraries, but librarians need to focus the attention of the people 
> holding the purse strings to specific things they can do to show that 
> love.
>  
>  http://www.advocacyguru.com/
>  
> Wendy Cornelisen
> Brentwood Library
>
>     ------------------------------
>
>     Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2008 09:02:22 -0600 (CST)
>     From: mklibrarian at gmail.com <mailto:mklibrarian at gmail.com>
>     Subject: RE: [Publib] WI Librarians Demoted: "Librarians today do less
>            complex work"
>     To: publib at webjunction.org <mailto:publib at webjunction.org>
>     Message-ID: <MTIwNDAzODE0Mi5tbmljZWd1eQ.1204038142 at dissimulo.com
>     <mailto:MTIwNDAzODE0Mi5tbmljZWd1eQ.1204038142 at dissimulo.com>>
>     Content-Type: text/plain;charset=iso-8859-1
>
>
>     So, all we do is roll over and wait for the guillotine to fall?
>
>     We don't respond? Lots of library advocacy, but little - if any -
>     librarian advocacy??
>
>
>
>     James wrote:
>     > Sue Kamm is right.  With health insurance premiums increasing
>     rapidly,
>     > the budgetary pressures are intense.  Using various expedients and
>     > dressing them up to look like service improvements is not a new
>     tactic.
>     > Universities have been doing this kind of thing for years by using
>     > Adjunct Faculty to teach numerous classes at ridiculously low
>     rates of
>     > compensation and zero benefits.  For many decades we have seen
>     legions
>     > of Ph.D.s and MAs in various liberal arts fields piecing
>     together three
>     > or four adjunct positions in order to make ends meet while
>     hoping that
>     > their spouses have some kind of medical insurance.  Back in the
>     1970s,
>     > Cleveland Public Library stopped hiring MLS librarians and
>     decided to
>     > use the MLS degree only for department head and assistant department
>     > head positions.  The positions that had previously been held by MLS
>     > librarians were filled by para-professionals without the MLS.  The
>     > department I worked in went from 8 MLS Librarians down to 2 via
>     > attrition.   That was some 30 years ago.
>     >
>     >
>     >
>     > I don't see things getting worse, but continuation of a
>     situation that
>     > is already pretty bad.   Michael Moore talks about 47 million
>     Americans
>     > without health insurance and librarians/academics make up a
>     portion of
>     > that figure.
>     >
>     >
>     >
>     > James B. Casey --- My own views.
>     >
>     > Director of Oak Lawn Public Library
>     >
>     > ALA Council Member
>     >
>     >
>     >
>     >
>     >
>     >
>     >
>     >
>     >
>     >
>     >
>     >
>     >
>
>
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>
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