Thing 16 – Advocacy, speaking up for the profession and getting published

As far as advocacy goes, I agree that it’s very important for those in the profession to be able to explain, promote and publicise what they do. It certainly seems to be more common these days, with organisations like Voices for the Library taking the lead, and CILIP demonstrating a more proactive advocacy role than it has in the past.

Library advocacy comes in all forms

I’m glad a distinction has been drawn between advocacy and activism. I’m not an outgoing person, and wouldn’t be comfortable with public speaking and many of the other demands that being an activist makes. I really enjoyed Johanna Anderson’s blog post about the differences between the two, and it made me feel more comfortable with the idea of advocacy. I also gained a lot from Alice Halsey and Simon Barron’s workshop at the New Professionals Conference 2011 about activism for new professionals. It helped me realise that some of the things I do without really thinking about them, such as talking about libraries to friends and family and occasionally linking to library-related content on Facebook, could count as advocacy.

When I was a graduate trainee in Cambridge, the library did a fantastic job of promoting the college’s special collections to outside users, such as schools as part of an outreach programme and the general public as part of Cambridge Open Days. Katie Birkwood and Naomi Herbert talked about this in more detail as part of their NPC 2011 presentation. In a wider academic context, I would say that academic libraries are under less of an immediate threat than public libraries, but there are still issues with services being cut, and at a time when increased tuition fees mean students will likely expect an even better service without any extra money going to the library. Students may not even be aware of the services academic librarians offer – I know I wasn’t as an undergraduate.

As far as being published is concerned, I have already had an article published in Relay (the journal of the CILIP University, College and Research Group) on digital asset management. This was adapted from a Masters assignment and is largely thanks to the help and encouragement given to me by one of my tutors – it would never have occurred to me to try this by myself. I certainly feel much more comfortable writing than speaking or anything else, so I might try to pursue this further in the future.

March for the Alternative

Last Saturday I was in Central London taking part in the March for the Alternative. This was a last-minute decision. I already had plans for that weekend. I'm not the sort of person who goes on marches, or even gets involved in anything relating to politics.

I went because I am angry about the prospective cuts, to libraries of course but also to the other public services I've always taken for granted. I was relieved to find so many people on the march who clearly felt the same way. There was a great atmosphere all the way from Embankment to Hyde Park, with people of all ages and from all walks of life. I didn't see any evidence of violence.

I wish I'd made plans to go earlier, because I might have been able to meet up with some of the other librarians who were going - I decided not to try on the day because I only know them through Twitter and there were so many people there I was sure I wouldn't be able to find them! If any of you are reading this - maybe next time! I found the day really rewarding and worthwhile and if there's another march any time soon, I'll be there.