Library Advocacy

Libraries must do advocacy and fundraising in order to grow in a time of change and opportunity as government funding at all levels tightens. The Board, Director, and Staff at the Okotoks Public Library created a Vision, wrote a fundraising policy, and then began to implement an active advocacy and fundraising campaign. They set up booths at events, met with community groups, planned and organized fundraisers, and worked with local councils and administration. Specific, practical ideas will be outlined during this workshop. Please bring your questions and ideas for advocacy and fundraising to share during the 10-minute discussion at the end of this session.
LORRAINE CATHRO After a 20-year university teaching career, Lorraine gained marketing experience as a sales representative for Scholastic Publishing and as an investment advisor at a brokerage firm. She now assists in advocacy and fundraising initiatives toward library expansion as a member of the Okotoks Public Library Board.
LARA GRUNOW is very passionate about creating a public library that is the hub for its community and believes that libraries can play an integral role in helping create happier, healthier communities. The key is ensuring that stakeholders, potential community partners, and local residents know how our collections, programs, and services can benefit them. That is why, as newly appointed Library Director, Lara makes a point of getting out of her office and into the community.
PAT COE has previous experience with fundraising and advocacy through a wide variety of volunteer and business activities. As a former volunteer and employee at the Okotoks Public Library, she now serves on the Library Board and is participating in advocacy and fundraising efforts for the expansion of the library.

Public librarians can feel isolated, as if on islands, battered by the seas of change. We’ll explore ways libraries can build local capacity – in their communities and their libraries - by leveraging partnerships. Concepts discussed will include valuing the unique strengths in each of our libraries, capacity building as a reciprocal relationship between the library and its service community, and authentic partnership. Attendees will leave with two tools they can use immediately in their libraries.
MARGO GUSTINA Deputy Director, Southern Tier Library System Painted Post, NY she/her
Margo Gustina is an outspoken believer in the power of community to lead libraries toward more meaningful practice. As Deputy Director for the Southern Tier Library System, a cooperative which serves predominantly rural communities in New York State, Margo facilitates planning, funding, and governance conversations and processes.

This PowerPoint is from a presentation at the 2019 ALC Conference in Jasper.
Rural library staff and their trustees too often doubt the impact that they can make with their limited resources.  They may not dream big enough, or they might play it safe because they are afraid of failing.  Conference sessions aimed at libraries of all sizes may not speak to rural library staff and trustees, because they often deliver library services with reduced access to resources (e.g. a lack of space, time, staff, money, volunteers and/or community members). Exploring the factors that have led to successes at some of Alberta’s littlest libraries, this session will share strategies that little libraries can use to build success in their own communities.  The presenters will be conducting a survey of small rural libraries, and will interview high-performing rural libraries to discover the secrets of their success.

Becoming a Community Hub power point from the Success Stories presentation