Unfortunately that tendency can cause people to tune us out when we are discussing the importance of the school library program.  Our listener’s eyes glaze over and they furtively look for an escape, desperate to end the flow of information.  OK—that may be hyperbole.  It isn’t quite that bad, but our core message gets lost in flood of words we spill forth.

To make your point, start creating “elevator talks”. Many of you have heard about them and possibly how to craft them.  It began, as so much does, in the business world where the idea was to sell yourself as a job candidate in one minute—the time it takes an elevator to get from the lobby to an upper floor.

Every day you meet people, whether they are in the supermarket, the mall, or guests in your library. While it’s not always appropriate to launch into an elevator talk about the value of the library program while at the checkout counter, sometimes you can perceive an opening.  When you do, you should be ready.

The basic components of an elevator talk are: a bold, attention-grabbing statement, a corroborating follow up (sometimes from the research, but not necessarily), a strong conclusion that may suggest where the listener can verify what you have said.  For example, you might open with “because of the extreme cuts to school library programs our kids are graduating high school lacking the skills to be successful in college and the global economy.”  Your follow-up can refer to the many research studies connecting quality library programs with student learning and scores on high stakes test.  Or you can explain while students are digital natives, studies have shown they are woefully incapable of conducting academic level research and distinguishing between facts and misinformation online.

If you are working in a good library program, you can close by inviting the person to see your library in action or refer them to your website if you show students projects as a result of their work in the library.  When you don’t have that option, direct them to someplace they can learn more such as ilovelibraries.org. You can ask their opinion about libraries or encourage them to support school and public libraries at the ballot box.  Just keep it brief.   Have different elevator talks for casual meetings, talking with parents or speaking with a board member.  In the last case, be careful.  You don’t want to be seen as taking advantage of a chance meeting or doing so while the board member is accompanied by the principal.

Recognize you need to tweak your talk depending on your audience.  You speak differently with people you know and those you don’t.  A parent’s interest will be different from a business owner’s. And you don’t want to sound rehearsed or like you’re giving a prepared speech.

Once you’ve “mastered” brevity, use it in your communication with administrators.  Too often librarians send long emails (always a bad idea) or attach memos to them running well over a page.  You try to explain all your reasoning and provide background information for your request.  Invariably your principal tunes you out.

Get to the point quickly.  Do you want to have an author visit?  Say so immediately. Don’t lead with justification and why it will promote reading.  State your core message.  Add one or two supporting statements, and end with saying you will set up an appointment to review details and answer any questions.

By using elevator talks as a model, your communication will improve and your message will be heard – and remembered.

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What Jim Rettig was meant when he coined the phrase, is that libraries should not think of themselves as separate from each other.  We should not compete with each other.  The success of one type of library is contingent on the success of all types of libraries.

You have only to see the initiatives of the successor ALA past-presidents to see the evidence of ALA recognizing that all types of libraries need to thrive.  Inevitably, there has been a focus on working to promote the value of school librarians.  ALA as well as AASL will rise to the challenge when there is a major threat to school libraries in a state, and the Washington Office works hard to secure passage of legislation supporting school libraries.

I am completing my term as Chair of AASL Advocacy at the close of ALA Annual.  As part of my responsibilities, I am a member of the Advocacy Coordinating Group which is a great example of the Library Ecosystem.  There are 22 members, including staff liaison.  Both Terri Grief, AASL President and I represent ALA.

Here are some of the divisions and groups represented: Association of College and Research Libraries, Association for Library Services to Children, Association for Library Collections & Technical Services, United for Libraries, Library & Information Technology, Association for Specialized& Cooperative Library Agencies, Public Awareness, Committee on Legislation, International Federation of Library Associations, Library Leadership & Management, Office of Information Technology & Telecommunication Services,  Research & Statistics, and Asian/ Pacific American Library Association.  That’s quite a broad range of members.

It took me a while to appreciate that every one of them had a stake in Advocacy.  You may think at first that we have little in common, but remember the concept of the Library Ecosystem.  As Benjamin Franklin said at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, “We all hang together, or we all hang separately.”

What emerges is that we find a few messages that apply to all of us.  Using three or four messages rather than a barrage of them from different camps ensures that it is heard, and that makes it powerful.

Currently the committee has just drafted the Advocacy Strategic Direction plan.  It is our part of the overall ALA Strategic Direction plan.  In turn, AASL Advocacy is going to work with it to craft an AASL Advocacy Strategic Direction.  ALA is very large and diverse, but by working together we speak with one voice.

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The first threesome consists of PR, marketing, and advocacy. AASL has simple definitions for the three on its website http://www.ala.org/aasl/advocacy/definitions.  PR and marketing are tools for building support from stakeholders.  We are not supposed to be the ones advocating.  Others should be doing it for us. The challenge is getting them to recognize why they need us.

I have come to realize that the word “advocacy” isn’t resonating with anyone. It has become more of a plea for help in saving our jobs, making us sound weak and needy. Not an image we want to cultivate.  How did that happen, and what can be done to change it? 

My suggestion is to begin with another threesome: leadership, networking, and legislation.  Leadership is first.  People must know who you are and what you give them.  Note that what you give them must be what they want, not what you think they need.  It requires that you get to know your stakeholders and what they value and then be visible in meeting those needs.  (Use PR and marketing to help get the word out.)

Networking means outreach and creating relationships.  Who do you know?  How do you leverage those contacts?  What do you give them?  How do you acknowledge them?  Are you using current methods i.e., social media to maintain the relationships?

Finally become politically aware.  Challenges to your program don’t always arise at the district level. Both state and federal governments have negatively impacted our programs.  Get alerts from ALA’s Washington Office http://www.ala.org/wo and respond to requests to contact legislators.  Better yet, ask your network to do as well.  It takes almost no time.  Find out what your state association is doing with legislation.  Know your local government officials and look for ways to make them welcome in the library—with photo ops.

Is this time consuming?  Yes!  But putting in the work here (you can create a targeted strategic plan for doing it), could be just what is need to insure you “Live Long and Prosper.”  I know many of you are doing this. How did you reach out? What do you suggest to fellow librarians?

AND –  If you want help – consider taking advantage of SLW’s new program of “ASK HILDA!  Send me an email at hilda@slworkshop.net and I’ll be in touch. 

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