The Alberta Library

Advocating to Your Municipal Council 
Presenting to your municipal council can often feel like a dreaded ordeal. Hopefully by the end of this webinar you’ll have some new tools in your advocacy toolkit that will make council presentations something you look forward to. We’ll cover:

• The importance of tooting your own horn.
• Getting Council to care about what you’re saying.
• Deciding what information to highlight in your presentation.
• How to present the information for the best impact.

Presenter Bio
Allison Stewart has worked in school and public libraries for over 16 years. She worked in an elementary school library for two years before jumping into the shark-infested waters of a local high school library. She ran that library for 7 years before moving to Stony Plain Public Library in September 2010 as the Assistant Director. She became Director in 2013. Allison is passionate about libraries and believes information professionals will eventually rule the world because they know how to control the flow of information.

Presenting to your municipal council can often feel like a dreaded ordeal. Hopefully by the end of this webinar you’ll have some new tools in your advocacy toolkit that will make council presentations something you look forward to. We’ll cover:

• The importance of tooting your own horn.
• Getting Council to care about what you’re saying.
• Deciding what information to highlight in your presentation.
• How to present the information for the best impact.

Presenter Bio
Allison Stewart has worked in school and public libraries for over 16 years. She worked in an elementary school library for two years before jumping into the shark-infested waters of a local high school library. She ran that library for 7 years before moving to Stony Plain Public Library in September 2010 as the Assistant Director. She became Director in 2013. Allison is passionate about libraries and believes information professionals will eventually rule the world because they know how to control the flow of information.

TAL Hosted this webinar on July 4, 2019. Attendees learned about 10 tips on how to ensure your library stories stand out with media and to create key messages to be used in media relations activities, advocacy and promotion. This presentation was hosted by a marketing and communications leader about her experience working with the media and leave with a better understanding about media relations.
The Presenter, Anna Alfonso, is the Director of Marketing and Communications at the Edmonton Public library where she leads marketing, communications and design. She brings with her over 15 years' experience as a brand builder and strategic marketing communications leader in the retail and tourism industries. Anna was most recently the Vice President of Marketing at West Edmonton Mall where her team was responsible for the organization's digital, retail, attractions, destination marketing, corporate communications, media relations, events, advertising, in-house design studio and strategic partnerships. Prior to West Edmonton Mall, Anna held senior marketing roles with Travel Alberta and E! Entertainment.

On May 23, 2019, TAL hosted this timely webinar on how library managers, directors and trustees can advocate for their libraries. ADVOCACY: IT'S A WAY OF THINKING. Advocacy is an area where both board members and staff may feel unprepared. With a change in the provincial government, the need to ensure that MLAs have the right information for making decisions about libraries is crucial. This webinar will introduce you to a helpful way to think about advocacy, and to approach your local decision makers.
Presenters:
Margaret Law has had a long professional career in Alberta, working in both public and academic libraries. Currently, she is teaching at MacEwan University and at the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Alberta. Advocacy has been an ongoing concern of hers, focused on her belief that the library community needs to tell its own stories clearly in order to inform others about our value to communities.
Punch Jackson retired in 2009 after working 40 years in the non-profit, public and private sectors. He has worked in recreation, sport, community development, the voluntary sector and public libraries. Punch enjoyed 13 years working with the Alberta library community on the creation of APLEN, connecting libraries to the Supernet and advocating for libraries within the Alberta Government and political system. Punch is one of the founding members of the Men’s Sheds Association of Edmonton.

TAL Hosted this webinar on July 4, 2019. Attendees learned about 10 tips on how to ensure your library stories stand out with media and to create key messages to be used in media relations activities, advocacy and promotion. This presentation was hosted by a marketing and communications leader about her experience working with the media and leave with a better understanding about media relations.
The Presenter, Anna Alfonso, is the Director of Marketing and Communications at the Edmonton Public library where she leads marketing, communications and design. She brings with her over 15 years' experience as a brand builder and strategic marketing communications leader in the retail and tourism industries. Anna was most recently the Vice President of Marketing at West Edmonton Mall where her team was responsible for the organization's digital, retail, attractions, destination marketing, corporate communications, media relations, events, advertising, in-house design studio and strategic partnerships. Prior to West Edmonton Mall, Anna held senior marketing roles with Travel Alberta and E! Entertainment.

A visual guide on how to request items in the New TAL Online.