Library advocacy is a deliberate, planned, and sustained effort to develop understanding and support for libraries and the communities they serve. Advocacy is not optional—it is a vital responsibility to protect the integrity and impact of libraries in society.
Legislative Advocacy and Public Policy Work for Academic and Research Library Workers is a comprehensive resource addressing our specific roles in influencing the various legislative and public policies that directly impact academic libraries, our academic communities, and the library community at large. It explores the ways academic and research library workers are engaging in advocacy, from testifying at governmental levels to collaborating with diverse constituents and legislators to bringing our academic advocacy efforts to discussions within state and regional library associations.
As educators and researchers, library workers bring invaluable expertise to the legislative table. We can help ensure that decisions affecting academic and research libraries and their communities are informed, equitable, and aligned with the values of intellectual freedom and lifelong learning. Legislative Advocacy and Public Policy Work for Academic and Research Library Workers offers ways to make meaningful legislative and policy impacts.
Introduction
Raymond Pun, Sonya M. Durney, and Tarida Anantachai
Section I. Overviews of Public Policy Issues Impacting Academic and Research
Libraries
Chapter
1. Were in the Future Now: Advocating for Transformative Change in
the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP)
Valerie D. Glenn and Shari Laster
Chapter
2. Solving the Ebook Conundrum: Libraries, Legislation, and Advocacy
in the States
Kyle K. Courtney and Juliya Ziskina
Chapter
3. Contract Override: The Hidden Copyright Issue in Electronic
Licensing
Sara Benson, Carla Myers, James G. Neal, Timothy Vollmer
Chapter
4. No Clear Vision: Problems and Opportunities with the Law
Regarding Equitable Access for the Blind, Visually Impaired, and
Print-Disabled (BVIPD) Students
Eric P. Robinson, Dick Kawooya, Clayton A. Copeland, and Brandy Fox
Chapter
5. Digital Equity in Higher Education
Kara Malenfant, Laurie Blandino, and Anne Craig
Chapter
6. Harnessing OER Policy to Benefit All Learners
Regina H. Gong and Nicole Allen
Chapter
7. Digital Privacy and Policy Work in Higher Education: An Interview
with Frans Albarillo
Section II. Perspectives and Strategies from Academic and Research Library
Workers
Chapter
8. Uniting Policy, Advocacy, and Education: Reframing the Open
Access Policy as a Statement of Values in a Time of Funder Mandates
Miriam Rigby and Franny Gaede
Chapter
9. Beyond the Legislatures Website: Strategies and Tools for State
Legislative Research that Informs Advocacy Work
Jennifer Horne
Chapter
10. Bridging Gaps: Librarians Fostering Intellectual Freedom Across
State Lines
Harley Rogers and Lindsay Decker
Chapter
11. From Advocacy to Advocacy: 25 Years of GovInfo Day, the Annual
Gathering of Librarians Interested in Government and Legal Information
Carla Graebner
Chapter
12. Partnering with Humanities Advocates to Benefit Archives
Bryan Whitledge
Chapter
13. Advocacy and Influence: What We Know After Fifty Years of
Training and Research: An Interview with Dr. Ken Haycock
Chapter
14. Getting Heard
Irene M. H. Herold
Chapter
15. Librarian Lobbyist? Front Lines of Virginia OER Legislative
Advocacy
Anita R. Walz
Chapter
16. Narrow Coverage of Broadband: Librarians and Public Telecom
Consultations
Kris Joseph and Michael B. McNally
Chapter
17. Cultivating Resistance: Academic Librarian Strategies to
Mobilize the Black Community Against Book Bans
Tiffeni Fontno
Chapter
18. What Civil Rights Pioneers Taught Me About Advocacy: An
Interview with Arnetta Girardeau
Chapter
19. Conducting Research in Support of Advocacy: What We Have Learned
From Analyzing the Canadian Copyright Act Review
Jennifer Zerkee and Stephanie Savage
Chapter
20. Minding the State Advocacy Gap: Organizing Academic
Librarian-Focused State Advocacy Days
Diana J. Castillo
Chapter
21. Advocacy for Intellectual Freedom in a State Library
Association: Recent Experiences from Virginia
Keith Weimer and Shari Henry
Chapter
22. Federal Requests for Information: Responding to Advocate and
Develop Campus Networks
Abigail Goben and Andrew Boyd
About the Authors
Ray Pun is the academic and research librarian at the Alder Graduate School of Education, a teacher residency program in California. In addition, he is a member of the American Library Association (ALA) Policy Corps, where he collaborates with members to engage and support legislative advocacy work and priorities under the ALA.
Sonya Durney is the scholarly communication librarian at the University of New England. Sonya is a member of the ALA Policy Corps and past president of the Maine Library Association (20232024).
Tarida Anantachai is the director of talent management at the North Carolina State University Libraries. She has contributed to library advocacy work within groups such as the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), and was a past president of the Eastern New York Chapter of ACRL.
