Advocate for Iowa Libraries!

It's fun to juggle many different subjects and projects as a librarian, but one of my favorite activities is coming up in the next couple of months. It's time to advocate for libraries statewide.

Now of course we as librarians want to be advocating for our institutions year-round, but this is an especially important time in Iowa because the legislature is in session. For the past few years, our state organization, the Iowa Library Association, has had to fight tooth and nail to make sure that the State Library of Iowa and public libraries across the state got the funding that they needed. What does this funding pay for? Well, here's a partial list of some of the most important things that libraries do for citizens:

• Summer reading programs
• Interlibrary loan programs (borrowing materials across the state)
• Funding for electronic databases (research, statistics, K-12 homework projects, etc.)
• Learning Express, a database that helps people learn about computers, study for placement tests, prepare for college, prepare for entering the workforce, and many other tasks
• Fund teacher librarians for every school in the state
• The Open Access Program, which allows residents of Iowa to obtain a library card from any library in the state and return materials at other libraries
• The State Data Center, which provides Iowans with all kinds of data related to the Census, economic development, and grants
• Websites for small public libraries, which sometimes cannot afford their own
• Audio books and ebooks
• The Library Service Areas, which help keep communication between libraries strong and provide smaller libraries in the state with access to new technology, training, and resources

The list goes on and on, but you start to get the idea. Iowa library use is at an all-time high. The statistics show that more people are coming to libraries than ever before, are getting library cards at a rate higher than ever before, are using computers more than ever before, and are checking out materials more than ever before. Libraries are essential parts of our communities and they need your help.

If you want to advocate for your local library, tell a story to your legislator. Explain to them how vital your local library is. Think of all the ways you use your local library on a weekly basis. You can also check out some of the Iowa Library Association's priorities for 2013 here.

Also, here are a couple of dates on which members of ILA will be active this year. Feel free to join in, especially during Lobby from Home Day. We can use all the help we can get.

2013 ILA Lobby from Home Day - Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Contact your legislators via phone or email and tell them your story. Legislators like to hear from their constituents, especially when they have a unique tale to tell. The more people they hear from, the more the legislators realize just how important libraries are to the citizens of Iowa.

2013 ILA Legislative Day - Wednesday, March 6, 2013
This event is so much fun because you get to visit the Capitol building, meet with legislators, receive a legislative update on what's happening on the floors of the House and Senate, and get to mingle with librarians all while eating some delicious food. If you're a librarian, board member, or trustee, come on down to the Capitol that day. If you're a citizen, join us. Legislators love it when their constituents show up.