An advocate is one who pleads for a cause; a champion; a defender. To be an advocate one must act upon, or do something. Advocacy is a verb; an action word. It does not entail siting around waiting for someone else to come along, pick up the standard, and get things done. As librarians in rural communities, we must do it ourselves for our communities. We must be the ones to positively impact behavior in our public enterprises and local society. It is no longer enough to put a sign up; we must change and become our own best customers.
Advocacy influences the power structure of a library. It helps to create allies, route information, and meet community needs in a low-income environment. It is the difference between just being "there", and being a focal point and action center. Advocacy keeps the lines of communication open, and forces library staff to be proactive in networking and promoting library services. As information specialists in the new century, we need to think and behave like CEO's: creative, dynamic, and venturesome enough to generate our own ideas into action, borrow them from successful organizations, and apply them at home. Advocacy makes us "seen" and "heard".
"Librarian" is the perfect definition of a Connector. Connectors are the influential people in a community or locale who network and bring about rapid and widespread change. This type of Connector-mentality creates the greatest library advocacy. A Connector "grows" networks by sharing information, and by initiating access to information. This is a person with an appetite for continuous learning, and one who is comfortable across a wide range of social and organizational settings. This is the 21st century librarian who will bring the future into the rural library setting.
Everybody loves a good story, especially one that promotes wisdom and health into a community. The library is already filled with the ideas of great thinkers, innovators, and doers. Connectors can share themselves with the community by using the library as a "neutral zone". Its about building advocacy through local civic and social service organizations, community activists, and religious leaders. Every town has these people living in it. This is the opportunity to invite people who turn great ideas into reality into the library setting. It is up to the rural librarian to locate and connect with these individuals to create advocacy that helps solve community needs, and position the library as the focal point of the community.
Library services are impacted by advocating with other types of Connectors because this type of connecting increases library value and library visibility. So, become your own best customer: become a community Connector and your library's greatest advocate!
See 'Fotched-On' Librarian's newsletter archive on Scribd for ideas and tips on how to go about it!
Brought to you by The Settlement Library Project:
Serving People, Changing Perspectives, and Sharing Resources in Libraries
image: School Library Journal http://www.slj.com/2014/01/schools/california-school-librarians-look-to-higher-ed-during-advocacy-overhaul/
