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Welcome to week two of Library Advocacy Unshushed.
Last time we looked at the values and commitments librarianship
that are the foundation of library advocacy.
No matter how large the community or what kind of community it is,
or how new the technology is, the values that bind libraries are timeless.
I'm talking about such values as service and stewardship.
We saw that great libraries and librarianship
are deeply rooted in communities.
All sorts human groups.
And that's what makes them powerful.
So when we are advocating for libraries, we
are really advocating for the future of communities.
This week, we're going to look at perceptions
of libraries and librarians, and what these perceptions tell us
about how we can be effective advocates.
We're going to see some wonderfully affirming research,
and we're also going to see some surprises and some wake up calls.
The bottom line here is that advocates have
to begin with the perceptions of their audience
rather than with their own knowledge and conviction.
In the first video, called Love and wake-up calls,
we affirm that people do really love and use and value their libraries
and services at these libraries, but that doesn't necessarily
get us very far.
There is much about libraries that people-- even people who use libraries
often and who are big fans of libraries-- just simply don't know,
as we're going to see in the next video.
They don't know all of the services that libraries provide.
Or, as we will see in the video after that,
the economic and social contribution of libraries to the community,
or the state of library funding.
In the final video, we're going to see that the true supporters of libraries
aren't necessarily users at all.
And here I'm talking about getting support for libraries
rather than increasing library use.
We're not focusing on getting more library members-- although that's
always a good thing-- but instead on engaging the decision makers.
Those people who have the power to decide on library budget, or policies,
or the legislative frameworks within which we work.
We are also, of course, seeking to engage and persuade
the people who influence these decision makers.
It may be highly worthwhile to increase use,
but we all know-- since we're not General Motors-- that we
can double our use and still have our budgets reduced.
And that's, of course, what we want to avoid.
So let's get on with Love and wake-up calls.