Advocacy is a necessary component of a school library program for many reasons. Not only is advocacy is a way that school librarians can demonstrate to their patrons the various resources available through the library, but it is also important way for school librarians to gather together a community who will support them in times of financial crisis. "For school library media programs to be given the appropriate high priority in funding and staffing plans, an advocacy program must be developed, implemented, and kept on the alert" (Woolls, 2008, p.189). When cuts to education hit schools, it is important that teacher librarians are prepared to demonstrate the value the library has to the school community.
Advocacy can take place in many forms, and towards many people. A school librarian is responsible for meeting the library needs for all members of their school community-- this extends beyond just students and teachers, but also includes all members of the staff or community volunteers. The more people who are able to use library resources, the greater impact the school library will be having on that school community.
Obviously, school librarians are more aware of the resources they offer than anybody else. Advocacy can take place through the publicizing of new resources-- both print and electronic. Not only will this help patrons to become aware of the resources that the library provides, but it will get some patrons excited about new materials, and also keep the library on the school community's radar. If patrons are unaware of the resources available to them, these resources will not be used. An unused resource is a waste of money, regardless of how potentially useful that resource could be. Therefore, school librarians need to make sure that their patrons understand that these tools are available and also how these tools can be helpful in their lives.
Various members of the school community will need different forms of advocacy, but a strong library program will advocate for itself through a variety of formats. The librarians in my district have been brainstorming groups of people we would like to target some outside advocacy to. We have come to appreciate the value of social organizations. There are a plethora of social groups devoted to the improvement of community resources. It is important for school communities to reach out and partner up with local organizations. The discussion has caused us to realize that sometimes we must look for benefactors outside of the communities in which our schools reside. This is especially the case for lower income neighborhoods. While these neighborhoods may have less resources available to them, outside parties are oftentimes more likely to contribute to schools in economically depressed locations. This brings the importance of library advocacy to even greater levels.
There are many challenges that face the modern school librarian. It is difficult to advocate for the library when many teachers are already overworked and underpaid. This means that librarians must sometimes play the cheerleader, trying to remind the school community how sunny and personally relevant the school library is to the community.
Woolls, B. (2008). The School Library Media Manager. Westport: Libraries Unlimited.
I like the idea of looking for partnering groups or agencies. I think an important thing about advocacy and marketing is to think creatively. There are the obvious things some of which you have mentioned but what else? People are participating in a lot of interesting activities and being aware helps out with generating our creative juices. And the outside agencies is one of the ways I think tend towards more creative approaches. Taking us out of our box.
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