Written By: Tori Robertson
Edited By: Adina Vega and Genevieve Hammang
A picture of me standing in the Library of Congress doorway
In the fall of 2023, my first semester at San Jose State University’s iSchool program, I got an email from the school’s director about applications being accepted for several different internships. I chose to apply for the library advocacy special study course and was accepted for the summer semester of 2024. Its focus was advocating for libraries across the United States in different capacities, such as support for school librarians. The course consisted of three interns, the current acting president of the student advocacy group, and Dr. Chow. I was unsure what to expect because I had never worked in an advocacy group. Still, I was excited to learn because I firmly believe that libraries are integral to our society.
Our small group met on a (mostly) weekly basis via Zoom to discuss current issues concerning library advocacy, such as what legislation was being pushed through or what needed to be promoted on social media. Dr. Chow would often have updates for us and kept us in the loop about his knowledge of library advocacy. We would also sometimes have guests attend our meeting to speak to us about library advocacy, from an alum who spoke to us about their library having issues with book banning to Patrick Sweeney, who is deputy director of EveryLibrary (a PAC supporting libraries in the U.S.) as well as a professor in the iSchool. Sweeney was very present during the latter half of the semester and helped to teach us how petitions and politics work through advocating for libraries.
We then worked together or independently during the week on projects concerned with library advocacy, with the guidance of Dr. Chow and our group president. I worked on a project independently about the Right to Read Act, which is a piece of legislation that would help provide more resources to school libraries across the country. I wrote up a draft for an email blast to SJSU’s iSchool students and alumni with a link to where they could contact their legislator if they wished to support this important act, as well as created a graphic for social media posts to the iSchool. This helped to generate more interest in the act and urge members of Congress to co-sponsor.
During this ten-week course, I learned several important lessons about library advocacy. One of those lessons is that advocacy can move very slowly or quickly depending on many circumstances, such as the subject, where advocacy is situated in the process, how many people it reaches, and where the legislation concerning the issue is moving. However, no matter the pace, it is important to keep up with current topics so that the information on what is being advocated for stays up to date and appeals to its target audience so that it is seen and distributed efficiently.
Another lesson was that social media and emails can really help get the word out so people can sign a petition, reach their legislators, or share content. It can help especially if a day of action is created to get as many people as possible involved in one day to put an advocacy movement in motion. Figuring out how important the political climate is in its connection with advocacy was also enlightening. Depending on who is in office and what issues are causing the most concern, it can make or break a movement and pinpoint the direction it should head into. The last idea that stuck with me is that the way to engage people is to be short and to the point when giving out information about taking action, such as signing a petition. Telling people about what is happening concisely and giving them a chance to act should get them to sign the petition or write to their congressperson.
Overall, this internship has taught me that advocacy has many layers, different ways to engage people, and how working with others to make a difference is possible despite challenges. I’m glad I could participate in something that showed me a wide scope of information about advocating for libraries nationwide.
The social media graphic I created for the Right to Read Act.
0 Comments