Does advocacy really make a difference on the ground?

The term advocacy can often be a buzz word – it can generate a lot of interest, talk and passionate cries for the need for it, but does it actually make a difference on the ground? In particular, does advocacy bring about practical change that improves the outcomes for libraries and their students? If it is successful, what type of advocacy is best? Loud and demanding, or the subtle approach?

Hinton (November,2021) discusses the professional advocacy undertaken by teacher librarians in the city of Washington DC. In their desire to remain professional and uphold the standards of their profession, they opted for a variety of activities that would bring attention to the important role they do. One of these activities was a ‘read-in’ on the steps of their local member’s office. 100 people reading. Quietly, minimum fuss. Boyd is quoted by Hinton who states, ‘“We did the exact opposite of what they expected us to do,” says Boyd. “When people normally protest at that site, they’re kind of loud; they have signs; they’re banging drums and cowbells—and we sat down and silently read. That’s what we do. We are librarians. We read. We support our students, and we support the community. We showed through a quiet gesture how serious we were about the work that we were doing.”

Their advocacy continued by demonstrating the impact their role has – the positive it has on the community through social media posts, and providing continued, reliable service. It paid off. Their campaign spurred a local city council member to introduce the Right to Read Act, a bill that would guarantee a librarian in every year starting from 2023 onwards. This demonstrates just how effective advocacy can be to bring about real, practical change on the ground – benefiting students and the community at large.

We can see practical results from advocacy closer to home, as well. The 2022 Softlink Australian and New Zealand School Library Service Report provides important statistics that demonstrate the practical outcomes that advocacy has returned. Section 3.3 of the report details reasons for increases in school budgets from one year to another. Amongst reasons like increased student numbers, and costs for products increasing, strong advocacy for the library is one of the key reasons. Similarily, Section 4.3 of the report, which details staffing levels, advocacy for library programs was a key reasons for staffing levels increasing. Promoting the beneficial outcomes for what librarians do, such as the research and work of Dr Margaret Merga, can help to educate people about the critical work librarians already do – and what we could do more of with additional resources!

To answer my original question, Does advocacy really make a difference on the ground? the results from Washington DC and Australia proves it does. May these success stories be the encouragement we need to consider our role in advocacy for this most important profession – and the way we can go about this.

Hinton, M. (November 1, 2021) School Libraries 2021: Advocacy is a Necessary Part of the Job for School Librarians in School Library Journal, News and Features. Retrieved from: https://www.slj.com/story/school-libraries-2021-advocacy-is-necessary-part-of-the-job-for-school-librarians