Cognotes 2018 Midwinter Meeting Denver Highlights - 14

COGNOTES

DENVER

MIDWINTER MEETING HIGHLIGHTS

Tell Congress to #FundLibraries and More
at National Library Legislative Day 2018
ALA members rose in record numbers to
advocate for libraries last year, after the White
House proposed cutting federal funding for
libraries in its FY2018 budget proposal. In
addition to phone calls and visits with elected
federal leaders, more than 40,000 emails were
sent to Congress, and more than 500 people
attended National Library Legislative Day 2017
in Washington, D.C.
That advocacy is paying off for libraries. By
the time FY2018 officially began in October
2017, the Appropriations Committees from
both chambers of Congress had passed bills
that maintained (and in the Senate, increased

by $4 million) funding for libraries. Though
the FY2018 budget is still not finalized, a budget agreement passed last week gives further
reason for hope.
One lesson learned from the long FY2018
appropriations process is that when libraries
speak, decision-makers listen. Library advocates will need to strengthen that resolve this
year. The White House is expected to release
its FY2019 budget proposal very soon, and
ALA's Washington Office expects even more
drastic cuts than those proposed last year. In
addition to funding cuts, many other federal
programs and policies important to libraries

Members of the ALA Policy Corps include (left to right, top): Larry Neal,
Ann Ewbank, Jenna Nemec-Loise, Hannah Buckland, Lance Werner
Bottom, left to right: Nicolle Davies, Candice Mack, Lisa Varga, Qiana
Johnson, Todd Carpenter. Not pictured: Deborah Rinio, Samantha Hines, and
Hallie Rich.

Inaugural ALA Policy Corps Members
Convene for the First Time
The 13 members of the new ALA Policy
Corps met for the first time immediately
before the opening session of ALA's 2018
Midwinter Meeting. The corps is a signature
initiative of ALA President Jim Neal, who
launched the program in October 2017 as
an extension of the "Libraries Transform;
Libraries Lead" campaign.
"The past year has brought sweeping
changes and challenges to policies that ALA
has advocated for, from net neutrality, to federal library funding, to privacy protections,"
said Neal. "It is imperative that information professionals have a voice, not only in
defending, but in shaping national policies
that impact our patrons, our profession, and
our nation."
The ALA Policy Corps is part of a larger
effort that also includes equipping and training at least one ALA member in every congressional district to establish and maintain
relationships with their elected officials and
policymakers. "The word 'advocacy' scares
people," said cohort member Lance Werner,
director of Kent (Mich.) District Library.
"But advocacy is really just building constructive relationships. "In advocacy," he continued, you approach relationships with a goal
in mind, but maintaining those relationships
is the key to creating meaningful change.
Cultivating relationships within the profession is a key aspect of the corps, which
will develop members' skills in the context

of a community of practice. Candice Mack
of Los Angeles Public Library looks forward
to learning with the group how to effectively
advocate for her patrons. A teen services librarian, Mack especially sees the need to show
how public policies impact young people and
communicate that to decision-makers. "The
older children get, the less attention they
receive - yet the more resources they need to
succeed." Developing a level of expertise in
advocacy alongside colleagues, she says, will
enable library professionals to bring more
opportunity to the youth they serve.
Like Mack, Todd Carpenter and other
members feel confident in their expertise
in a specific issue area, but look forward to
broadening their experience in one-on-one
advocacy with decision-makers. Sometimes
the only thing standing in the way of that is
an invitation.
Carpenter, executive director of National
Information Standards Organization in Baltimore, has worked with Neal in other professional contexts. "One hallmark of Jim Neal's
leadership," said Carpenter, "is giving people
like me - especially early in their careers - the
opportunity and encouragement to step up.
Distributing knowledge and responsibility is
part of an institutional succession plan, but
it's also smart advocacy."
The corps will next meet twice in Washington, DC - for a training program in March, and
for National Library Legislative Day in May.

are under threat.
One way you can advocate for libraries is to
participate in the 44th annual National Library
Legislative Day. Held in Washington, D.C.,
May 7-8, 2018, the two-day educational event
will give you the opportunity to learn from
advocacy and issue area experts.
National Library Legislative Day is open to
the public, and to advocates with any level of
advocacy experience. Whether you are fresh
out of library school or you are a longtime
library board member, a new advocate, or
an experienced defender of library interests,
National Library Legislative Day will give you
tools to help you engage your elected leaders
effectively.
On day one, you'll join hundreds of other
librarians, information experts, and library
supporters for a full day of training. We'll
discuss the most pressing legislative issues facing libraries, prepare you to make the most of
your meetings on Capitol Hill, and give you
the chance to share tips with library advocates
from all over the country. On day two, you
will put those skills to work, along with other
attendees from your state, in meetings with
your elected officials and their staff. All you
must do is come prepared to talk about the
important work your library is doing for your
community.
To register for National Library Legislative
Day in Washington or to participate virtually
from home, visit www.ala.org/nlld.

Sunrise
» from page 4

wanted done with his body
and what he wanted for his
last meal. But he decided then
that he was going to "live until
I die. I didn't just survive; I
thrived," Graves said. "I asked
myself, as Dr. King once did,
'Where do I go from here?'"
Graves turned to writing
and reading, corresponding
with pen pals who encouraged
him to persevere. He said he
realized that he enjoyed interacting with people and decided he would commit himself
to the service of others and his
community. Along the way he Anthony Graves speaks about perseverance and
read books by King, Malcolm hope during the annual Martin Luther King Jr.
X, Carter G. Woodson, Har- Holiday Observance and Sunrise Celebration on
riet Jacobs, Sidney Poitier, February 12.
James Baldwin, and others.
"I lost almost everything," Graves said. "I didn't go through hell and come back," Graves
did not lose my mind. I did not lose my soul." said. "Death row did not take my life, it did
After his conviction was eventually over- not kill my soul. It gave me purpose."
He encouraged attendees to be active and
turned and he was released in 2010, Graves
became a community advocate and public never give up: "Every person matters."
Following Graves, Alexandra Rivera, sespeaker, creating a foundation to push for
criminal justice reform, with a focus on Texas. nior associate librarian at the University of
In 2016, Graves was able to have the prosecu- Michigan, delivered the call to action, asking
tor of his case disbarred for presenting false attendees to find strength and hope despite
testimony and for withholding information frustrations and obstacles. "We are here,"
Rivera said. "We are present. Despite the
that led to his wrongful conviction.
"I would not be the same man today if I many efforts to silence us, to subjugate us,
we are here."
The event concluded with audience mem"I asked myself, as Dr.
bers joining hands to sign "We Shall OverKing once did, 'Where
come."
do I go from here?'"

http://www.ala.org/nlld

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