You know that we are big fans of library advocacy work! We love to talk about libraries, and all the neat things libraries do every day. Advocacy is just telling that stuff to our stakeholders and funders, to be sure they know all the important details about our work.
Libraries stand alone in the service we provide. We give books to people. We give them research articles. We give them access to computers and other technology. We give them our expertise in working with information. We give them programs. We give them training. We get them ready for college. We teach them how to do research. We train them to know the real meaning of “fake news.”
The value of libraries can be calculated qualitatively: the quality of the materials and services we provide is phenomenal. The “how does this feel?” test will generally blow the positive end off the charts: libraries “feel” great, most people like us, and even just hearing about the assorted stuff we do is enough to impress most people.
But our quantitative value is also pretty darn impressive! There have been a bunch of studies calculating the ROI (Return On Investment) of libraries. These are most frequently done on public libraries, but my moderately-expert opinion on this is that the general results would likely carry over to all types of libraries. These public library studies show that for every $1 invested in public libraries, value returned varies from a “mere” $2.97 in Suffolk County, New York, to $10.18 in Florida public libraries.
The Minnesota Library Association (MLA) organizes Library Legislative Day each year. This year, it is Tuesday, March 6.
Want more info about this? Check out this MLA/ITEM Legislative Legwork Committee site – new this year with a TON of great info!! If you have ever wanted to know even the smallest detail of what it’s like to go to Legislative Day (spoiler: it’s fun!), it is here!
If you would like to attend Legislative Day, CMLE members can apply for scholarships to cover the costs of finding a sub, traveling, or other costs associated with your attendance. We will give you a scholarship for this event, even if you have already received one this year or are planning to attend something else. Legislative Day is important to libraries, and we want to support you in attending!