The two key types of evidence in building the case for libraries are data and stories.
Data reaches out to the ‘right’ brain, appealing to the logical, the rational.
But sometimes, you need to be able to reach out first to emotions, to help them to see themselves in a particular situation.
You need to attract the ‘left’ brain as well
Stories, featuring people rather than just statistics, can help do this, engaging the person you are talking to, ensuring that they pay more attention to the numbers afterwards.
Of course, this is not to say that statistics do not have their place in stories. They can back up your arguments, demonstrate real-world change.
So for our 25th 10-Minute International Librarian exercise, learn and tell a library story.
You can find great examples of course on IFLA’s Library Map of the World, or in articles in newspapers or online.
Choose a story with a strong human element, even with names if that is possible. Make sure you can tell it confidently and quickly – it can be a great way of starting a conversation.
Share your favourite example in the comments below.
Good luck!
This idea relates to the IFLA Strategy! 2.1 Produce, communicate and distribute key resources and materials that inspire the profession .
You can view all of our ideas using the #10MinuteInternationalLibrarian tag on this blog, and of course on IFLA’s Ideas Store! Do also share your ideas in the comments box.