A structured approach to advocacy for K-12 school librarians focuses their energy on an active path that showcases library programs and resources and expresses the essential role librarians serve in school and student success. Keeping a library program vital requires regular reflection about current practices and a willingness to implement changes that will position the library and library staff should they be threatened with elimination. Simply Indispensable: An Action Guide for School Librarians helps librarians do just that. The book begins with an explanation of the need to act and then offers a systematic approach to taking action. Each chapter is devoted to an active path: attracting patrons; interacting with teachers, parents, administrators, and the community; communicating; reacting to "situations;" working for reinstatement if the worst happens, and more. The book covers advocacy—from the subtle exercise of developing excellent programs to the overt outreach of Legi-Days. Additionally, there is specific information about what to do when the RIF notice or pink slip arrives or if cuts are made, including how to properly close a library. After putting these actions into effect, school librarians will have a cadre of supporters ready to speak for them should the need arise.

Recent law, corporate, and even public library closings are the sad confirmation that libraries are no longer a given. Despite the fact that librarians bring unique value to their communities and organizations, too often their work goes on under the radar. The benefits provided by information professionals are invisible and taken for granted as Internet search engines replace real experts. It's time to assert your value and the value of the resources you marshal. Step from behind the desk or computer to make your community aware of just how indispensable your services are. Here are all the tools you need to become the squeaky wheel and attract the attention your work deserves. Use these practical strategies to connect with customers, make services both visible and valuable to the community, and get the word out using proven marketing, customer service and public relations tactics specifically tailored to the library environment. Learn to: Provide the answers your users/customers need; Gather internal and external champions to grow a funding base; Access the resources that keep your enterprise viable; Keep information resources available in spite of budget constraints; Be recogniz

How librarians can be radical positive change agents in their communities, dedicated to learning and making a difference. This book offers a guide for librarians who see their profession as a chance to make a positive difference in their communities—librarians who recognize that it is no longer enough to stand behind a desk waiting to serve. R. David Lankes, author of The Atlas of New Librarianship, reminds librarians of their mission: to improve society by facilitating knowledge creation in their communities. In this book, he provides tools, arguments, resources, and ideas for fulfilling this mission. Librarians will be prepared to become radical positive change agents in their communities, and other readers will learn to understand libraries in a new way. The librarians of Ferguson, Missouri, famously became positive change agents in August 2014 when they opened library doors when schools were closed because of civil unrest after the shooting of an unarmed teen by police. Working with other local organizations, they provided children and their parents a space for learning, lunch, and peace. But other libraries serve other communities—students, faculty, scholars, law firms—in other ways. All libraries are about community, writes Lankes; that is just librarianship. In concise chapters, Lankes addresses the mission of libraries and explains what constitutes a library. He offers practical advice for librarian training; provides teaching notes for each chapter; and answers “Frequently Argued Questions” about the new librarianship.

In this update of the ideal introduction to the library profession, the core competencies of professional librarians are presented in 14 essays supplemented with foundational principles and context. The original edition of this book gained popularity as a required work for LIS because it uniquely provided a broad, accessible overview of the core curricular areas and foundations for the library profession. What distinguishes the book as an introduction to the work of professional librarians is that it's not just about information in context or about libraries and their mission. Importantly, it also covers the required competencies of professional librarians, laying a firm foundation for future courses. In this second edition, each chapter has been revised and updated to take into account current thinking and references. As with the first edition, the book is organized around the foundations of the profession and key functional areas. Questions such as how to think like a librarian and how to facilitate community development are specifically and explicitly addressed. In compiling the book, the editors sought out the leading thinkers, educators, and practitioners in each core area as chapter authors. Each of the contributors provides an introduction to the knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with their respective area of expertise, discusses current and emerging applications, and explores trends and issues.

Drawing on his four decades of library experience, Gorman has written a thoughtful and humanizing book that not only reminds librarians why they chose their craft, but reinforces the importance of their work

Librarians must know how to provide essential programs and services that make a difference for the people they serve if libraries are going to survive. It is no longer realistic for librarians to rely on the idea that “people love libraries, so they will fund them” in this economic climate. Librarians must be able to prove that their programs and services are making a difference if they want to compete for funding in their municipalities, schools, corporations, colleges, institutions and organizations. Meeting Community Needs: A Practical Guide for Librarians presents a process that librarians of all kinds can use to provide effective programs and services. This requires being in close touch with your community, whether it is a city, town, or village; college or university; public or private school; or corporation, hospital, or business. Understanding what information people need, how they access it, how they use it, how it benefits them, and how they share it is paramount. The process in this book covers community assessment, designing programs and services to meet needs, implementing and evaluating programs and services, and funding options. Providing library programs and services for your entire population - not just library users - is more important than ever. Librarians working in libraries of all types must provide programs and services that meet community needs if libraries are to stay relevant and survive in the long run. Librarians must be able to measure their success and demonstrate the library’s worth with verifiable proof if they are going to be competitive for available funds in the future. Meeting Community Needs will make you take a serious look at how well your library programs and services are meeting your community’s needs, and it will show you the way to success.