Tag Archives: library

The 10-Minute Library Advocate #35: Get Your Delivery Right!

Image: one person acting out a scene from a play to another. Text: #35, get your delivery right. The 10-Minute Library Advocate, ifla.orgSometimes in advocacy, it’s not what you say, but how you say it.

Even the best arguments and the strongest evidence still need to be presented well in order to have an impact.

Sometimes this is a question of the vocabulary you use.

Sometimes it’s about your tone, or how fast you are speaking.

So for our 35th 10-Minute Library Advocate Exercise, get your delivery right!

Bear in mind that you are a little like an actor, who adapts how they speak and act to have a greater effect.

For example, make sure you’re not using library jargon that others may not understand.

Be sure to speak clearly, keep your sentences short, and focus on the message you want to send.

And of course smile and be as warm as appropriate – it’ll make people think more positively about your message!

Good luck!

 

See the introduction and previous posts in our 10-Minute Library Advocate series and join the discussion in social media using the #EveryLibrarianAnAdvocate hashtag!

The 10-Minute Library Advocate #34: Stop and Think

The 10-Minute Library Advocate #34: Stop and Think

Advocacy doesn’t always work first time around.

Your targeting, your messaging or your tools may not immediately be effective. This is normal.

But it’s not a reason to give up. In fact, this is really useful experience that you can use to improve things.

So for our 34th 10-Minute Library Advocate exercise, stop and think.

Take a moment to reflect on what has worked well, and what hasn’t in the context in which you are working.

Remember what your objectives were, and think about whether you have achieved them.

Which messages seemed to engage people, and which did you need to explain again?

You can do this alone, or in a group – different perspectives can be useful. The results will help you develop your advocacy further in future!

Good luck!

 

See the introduction and previous posts in our 10-Minute Library Advocate series and join the discussion in social media using the #EveryLibrarianAnAdvocate hashtag!

The 10-Minute Library Advocate #33: Bring a Prop or Support

The 10-Minute Library Advocate #33: Bring a Prop or Support

Advocacy shouldn’t just be about talking.

For people who have lots of meetings, it may even be difficult to remember what happened in one particular conversation.

So you need a way of giving the person you are talking to a way of remembering you, and your message.

You need both to make your meeting different, as well as give them a reminder, so that you can follow up.

So for our 33rd 10-Minute Library Advocate exercise, bring a prop or support.

This can be something simple like a photo or a postcard. If you have a brochure or something more detailed, this is even better.

Even a souvenir can help, as long as it has the name of your library or organisation on it, or some reminder of your meeting.

Not only does this add something to your presentation, but also, when your interlocutor is emptying their bag or jacket at the end of the day or week, they will see it and think of libraries.

Good luck!

 

See the introduction and previous posts in our 10-Minute Library Advocate series and join the discussion in social media using the #EveryLibrarianAnAdvocate hashtag!

The 10-Minute Library Advocate #32: Compare Notes and Share Ideas!

10-Minute Library Advocate #32 - Compare notes and share ideasYou don’t need to advocate alone!

One of the key strengths of the library field is that there are institutions and professionals in cities, towns and villages around the world.

And in them, there are people doing advocacy, each with their own strengths and questions.

This means lots of potential to discuss what you’re doing and learn.

So for our 32nd 10-Minute Library Advocate exercise, compare notes and share ideas!

Find someone else who is advocating for libraries, and see what has worked for them, and what lessons they have learned.

The World Library and Information Congress, starting this weekend, is a great time to do this.

Not just in the formal sessions, where you can hear more about IFLA tools and services.

But also in the informal chats where you can really go deeper, and ask the questions you want to ask!

Good luck!

 

See the introduction and previous posts in our 10-Minute Library Advocate series and join the discussion in social media using the #EveryLibrarianAnAdvocate hashtag!

The 10-Minute Library Advocate #31: Remember to take a Selfie

The 10-Minute Library Advocate #31: Remember to take a Selfie

Advocacy needs to leave a trace.

If you want to be able to build a relationship, it’s important to show what you have already done, and achieved.

Having evidence that you’ve met a politician or other target makes it easier to follow up.

And it’s great to have when talking about your advocacy to your colleagues and friends!

So for our 31st 10-Minute Library Advocacy exercise, when you meet with a politician or other decision-maker, remember to take a selfie!

Of course, depending on the person you’re talking to, a traditional photo will also be good!

And it’s a great way of creating a sense of complicity, and even a sense of fun, as long as the person you are meeting seems likely to accept.

Normally, people in power like having photos taken of them at work.

You can also share it with the person you have met – they might want to be able to show they are meeting with stakeholders too.

Good luck!

 

See the introduction and previous posts in our 10-Minute Library Advocate series and join the discussion in social media using the #EveryLibrarianAnAdvocate hashtag!

Making the Book Chain Stronger – and Unique

In many countries, the series of actors – and actions – that take a book from idea to bookshelf is known as the ‘book chain’.

The metaphor is attractive because of its simplicity, with a book to be published passed from writer, to publisher, to distributor, to bookshops and libraries, and to readers.

It is also used for planning policy interventions to support culture, with each actor benefitting from different supports – grants, tax reductions, or other tools.

Of course there is disruption. Plenty of authors simply bypass publishers simply by self-publishing. The work of distributors and bookshops (and some elements of the work of libraries) is subject to competition from the internet.

What is more worrying – as has been highlighted in online discussions in Senegal recently – is a tendency to forget libraries. This blog explains both why libraries are essential throughout the book chain, and indeed, why they make it unique.

 

Support at Every Step: Libraries Across the Book Chain

In the most simple terms, libraries are a market for publishers – in some cases, they are even the predominant ones (notably for scholarly works). However, this is to forget the other ways they provide help.

Authors – who tend to have a very positive attitude towards libraries – benefit from not only form the possibility to carry out research, but also to meet with some of the most passionate readers out there, and to be discovered by new audiences. Given that, alongside the desire to earn a living, simply being read is a high priority, this makes libraries into natural friends of authors.

For publishers, libraries are also effectively free advertising space, and make it feasible for them to produce a wider variety of content than would be possible if only working through bookshops. Libraries are also key players in developing the book-buyers of the future by encouraging literacy and a love of reading.

Similarly, libraries also be a useful source of feedback about demand for individual books, complementing that provided by bookshops. They are also are a vital part of the overall infrastructure for books – through running ISBN agencies, managing national biographies, and ensuring the preservation of works for future generations.

For bookshops, where perhaps the risk of competition can be seen as highest, there is in fact complementarity. Various studies from the US have shown that not only are people using libraries also more likely to use bookshops, but that discovering a new author in a library often leads to buying a second book at the bookshop.

 

 

Making it Unique: Why Libraries Make the Book Chain Special

What is missing from the previous set of actors are of course readers – libraries’ primary focus.

Indeed, it is this focus on meeting reader needs, first and foremost, that makes libraries and the book chain as a whole so special. No other sector of the creative industries has such a central focus on ensuring that it is not only about profit, but also about access.

This makes sense. Literacy is a core life-skill, and it is clear that a love of books and reading tends to make for better chances in life.

Arguably, as set out in the UNESCO Recommendation of 2015, the written word has a special role in sharing the thoughts and ideas that animate societies, and spreading the knowledge that drives progress. In this situation, giving everyone an equitable chance to access and enjoy it is essential to ensuring social cohesion, innovation, and compliance with international obligations.

Libraries, then, can be a source of pride for all others in the book chain – the thing that marks it out as being truly democratic, truly a contribution to broader social goals, rather than just a market or elite activity.

 

 

Clearly, the book chain is not without its problems, not least the need to hold its ground in the competition for people’s attention with other activities.

Moreover, there are ongoing discussions about how it is most appropriate for governments to support the creation and dissemination of new ideas, how to ensure that authors get a fair deal. As with any activity involving public money (including of course libraries), it’s important to be careful about how it is spent.

What is certain, at least, is that libraries are, and should be, part of the solution.

 

Find out more about how to support new authors – and creativity in general at session 188 – From Consumers to Creators – of this year’s World Library and Information Congress.

The 10-Minute Library Advocate #30: Get Your Opening Lines Right!

The 10-Minute Library Advocate #30: Get Your Opening Lines Right!

Good advocacy can take place in seconds.

This can be because you only have a very short period of time to talk with someone.

But it can also be because the person you’re talking to starts to make up their mind very quickly.

For someone busy, this is natural.

You need to make sure that they get the best impression of you and libraries from the beginning.

So for our 30th 10-Minute Library Advocate Exercise, get your opening lines right.

Practice it – setting out who you are, and what you want to talk about, and why it matters.

You may need to use it without much warning, so it’s good to have it in your head.

It can also help build your confidence for the rest of the conversation!

Good luck!

 

See the introduction and previous posts in our 10-Minute Library Advocate series and join the discussion in social media using the #EveryLibrarianAnAdvocate hashtag!