Join us next Tuesday May 8th from 9am – 5pm at CMLE HQ for some important library advocacy!

National Library Legislative Day takes place May 7-8 when librarians and library supporters will go to Washington DC for a two-day event. The first day they learn about advocacy tactics and current federal legislative issues that will impact libraries. Then the second day they have the opportunity to meet with their members of Congress to encourage support of libraries! Past MLA Legislative Chair, CMLE member, and podcast Guest Host Jami Trenam will be leading the delegation from Minnesota! If you are looking for some tips on library advocacy, listen to that episode now!

However, since traveling to DC is out of the question for many library supporters, there is a virtual option! You can register to participate and join in from home or your library – or have even more fun and join us at CMLE HQ! We’ll be advocating from our office between 9am – 5pm (ring the bell after 3pm and we’ll let you in!) and would love to have you join us! (We will have snacks, advocacy postcards, suggested text and other supplies to help advocate for libraries!)

Take a look at this great advocacy toolkit from ALA to get inspiration for social media posts, talking points, and letter templates. You can also use #NLLD18. Keep in mind these legislative topics when you are advocating:

• House & Senate: Reauthorize the Museum and Library Services Act (S. 2271)
• House & Senate: Fully Fund LSTA and IAL (Innovative Approaches to Literacy) for FY 2019
• House & Senate: Visit a library, see broadband access in action

We hope you can join us next Tuesday for Virtual Library Legislative Day! If you can’t make it to our office, definitely take a few minutes to send an email, make a phone call, or post to social media about the importance of libraries!