Indianhead Federated Library System

Advocacy vs. Lobbying

From Channel Weekly--January 5, 2012 

Education, public relations, advocacy, and lobbying are often confused and sometimes used interchangeably. However, there are differences in their meaning and purpose and in what may be allowable for public employees and officials. Teg Wegner, of the American Library Association's Washington office, and Stephanie Vance, the "advocacy guru" recently teamed up to produce a webinar that clarifies the distinctions between different forms of public communication, titled "Education, Advocacy and Lobbying – Oh My!: What’s Allowed (and What’s Not) When Reaching out to Elected Officials." Find out more about what library officials and supporters can and can’t do in this free archived webinar (one hour in length) offered by the American Library Association’s Washington Office. For more information and links to the video and related slides, see this District Dispatch article (shortened URL):

http://goo.gl/T1y9g.

2010 statistics for Wisconsin public libraries (10/7/2011)

2010 Public Library Statistics for Wisconsin public libraries, compiled from the 2010 annual reports data, are now available. This data may be useful to libraries for planning purposes and in preparing 2012 budgets.

Timely tips and information about issues important to public library board members. 

Tip #11 Open Meeting and Public Record Complaince Guides (Wisconsin Department of Justice)

The Open Meetings Compliance Guide is available at:

Tip #10 Staying Informed (Posted August 10, 2011)

Looking for ways to stay informed about libraries and library issues? The following resources are some good places to start:

 Retiring Guy's Digest (Paul Nelson, retired library director)

Channel Weekly (Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction)

Wisconsin Library Association

American Library Association

Tip #9 Library Advocacy (Posted October 18, 2010)

Are you looking for help in advocating the library’s budget in these tough times or that quick quote to enhance your presentation visit the IFLS advocacy webpage for some helpful tips

Tip #8 Library Director Evaluation (Posted April 27, 2010)

Evaluating the Libray Director can be a difficult task for library boards but it is important tool for the board in evaluating library service and the performance of the director.  Trustee Essential #6 provides a good overview of the process as well as a sample evaluation form.  Mid-Hudson Library System (New York) has a two part form part 1 | part 2 on their Trustee Resources Personnel page and Georgia Public Library Service has an additional sample. 

Tip #7 Library Board Bylaws (Posted April 25, 2010)

Library Board bylaws are the rules that a library board governs themselves.  The bylaws must comply with state statute.  Library Boards must have a president and a financial secretary/treasurer if the library has donation or endowment funds not held by the municipality. The Library bylaws could allow for additional officers such as a vice-president or secretary.  Library board bylaws may establish term limits for board officers but cannot establish term limits for board members.  For more information on Library Board bylaws see Trustee Essential #3.

Tip #6 Library Policies (Posted November 12, 2009)

One of the main responsiblities of a Library Board is to establish policies that govern the use of the library.  Those policies must be legal and appropriate for the community.  The Library Director should recommend new policies and review and recommended changes to an existing policy.  The Library Board should review and approve any new or revised policy.  The Division for Libraries, Technology and Community Learning has developed a Wisconsin Public Library Policy Resources website that contains links to policies from other libraries and other resources that can aid in the development of library policies.  The IFLS website has a link to a Policy Workshop  presented in November 2008 that also some valuable policy resources.  

Tip #5 Pandemic Flu Resources (Posted September 24, 2009)

The Department of Public Instruction has developed an outline for Pandemic Flu Planning for Wisconsin Public Libraries that includes links to resources and other information that libraries can use to develop policies and procedures for a pandemic in their community. 

 Tip #4 Public Library Space Planning (Posted September 4, 2009)

The Department of Public Instruction has issued a revised Public Library Space Needs: A Planning Outline.  The publication can help library staff and trustees determine the estimated future space needs of the library.  Contact John Thompson, IFLS Director for assistance with library space planning and buildings. 

Tip #3 Library Annual Report (Posted August 21, 2009)

The Trustee Corner in the Summer 2009 issue of the Channel outlines why the library completes an annual report and submits it to the Department of Public Instruction.  "The report collects financial, collection, staffing programming and other data useful to draw comparisons, detect trends, and conduct planning.

 Tip #2 Role of the Library Trustee (Posted August 6, 2009)

Individual library trustees participate together as the library board to promote the needs of library and govern the operations of the library.  This is accomplished in many ways--planning for the future needs of the library, advocating for adequate funding and staffing, and gathering information about community needs by networking within your community.  For more information about the roles of the library trustee see Trustee Essential #1.

 Tip #1 Library Standards (Posted July 27, 2009)

The Wisconsin Public Library Standards provide an excellent starting point for library planning and goal setting.   Rick Krumwiede, Director of the Outagamie Waupaca Library System (OWLS), has developed the OWLS Public Library Standards Web Page covering use of the Wisconsin Public Library Standards. Included is a nifty tool that will automatically calculate the quantitative standards levels for your library. All you need to input is your library name, municipal population and library service population.   The Standards are also a useful tool when developing a library budget. IFLS has developed a presentation about the library standards and their use.

 For more information on Trustee issues, contact John Thompson, IFLS Director