From the Campaign Trail to Your Library: Put Your Library Staff in the Spotlight and Win Library Support
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7710/1093-7374.1855Keywords:
Oregon, Oregon libraries, academic library, libraries, librarians, northwest, information science, information literacy, social media, writing, library trends, books, donors, library funding, Oregon library association, quarterly, Oregon library association quarterly, American library association, ala, ola, reading, library success, success, evolving roles, new discipline, changes in libraries, career, careers, library careers, library career, new department, student workers, spring, 2016, access services, professional journal, scholarly, academic, circulation, public, Portland, access, aspen institute, report, Oregon libraries answer the challenge, re-envisioning, beer, EveryLibrary, library campaign, vote, voting, ballot measures, non-partisan, PAC, political action committee, digital resources, e-book, ebook, digital collections, Erica Findley, Kate Lasky, Josephine Community Libraries, Multnomah County Library, librarian as candidate, Oregon humanities, ole award, cataloging, metadata, director, funding, ballot, measure, election, campaign, information only, consulting, oclc, marketing, media, newspapers, opinion, facts, yellow envelope, drive, Josephine county, highlight, library staff, feature, stories, positive, future, growth, strategy, strategies, practical, radio, relationshipsAbstract
When there is a funding measure on the ballot for a library, a local independent group is formed to run the campaign for the measure. This political group, sometimes called a local ballot committee or political action committee, educates voters on why they need to vote ‘yes’ on the measure to fund the library. This group can include library workers who volunteer their own time to help with the campaign.
In addition to and separate from this, library staff also have an important role during election time to provide voters with information on the measure and what will happen if the measure does or does not pass. These ‘information only campaigns’ are within the role of librarians as the professionals that are trusted by the public to provide the facts on issues that impact their communities. Library staff in any position have a responsibility to share this factual information with the public.
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