All-
Some of you may have read the well-written editorial recently published by Washington State Teacher of the Year, who is a school librarian. If not, I urge you to take a moment to ready it.
If things shake out like they normally do, this will get shared amongst school librarians and we will echo his sentiments, but more than likely, we end up sharing these sentiments with our peers. My question to you all is this. How can we share what’s in this article with NON-librarians? Any thoughts? If so, post your comments and/or share with me. I’d love to hear from you.
Becky Russell
Russell_b@cde.state.co.us
Filed under: Advocacy, Conversation
1. Summarize these points in bullets or one paragraph. I love libraries, but popping in to read the full article didn’t seem like a good fit with my non-librarian (or anyone’s busy…) day, and thus I confess I only made it through the first half. So, make any message short.
2. Using the term ‘truthiness’ to lead off is starting off in a biased–left-leaning–way that will turn off some from the get-go. Starting any ‘campaign’ with a moniker that appeals the the positive notions inside everyone (or almost everyone) regarding libraries and their own experiences with them, even if they are from their childhood.
3. Social marketing in this day and age isn’t hard–us library fans just need the messages (short) and concise instructions about what you want us to do with them (to make them viral).
I agree with Heidi that keeping a politically neutral tone is absolutely essential, especially for those of us in conservative districts. I also like the idea of bullets:
School librarians teach:
–how to research like a pro
–how to build a superb argument
–how to use the web and technology ethically and safely
–how to think critically and solve real world problems
–how to collaborate on projects using technology
–how to think creatively and deeply to develop new ideas
–how to communicate your ideas in a professional manner
–how to evaluate information for accuracy, bias and relevance
–how to make a positive difference in your community
–how to manage your time, your work and your learning
–how to be a learner and a leader in our global society
or something like that…
Excellent, ladies. I will use this in creating an op-ed piece, but I hope we will find this useful for some upcoming CASL board strategies as well. Thanks SO much!!
becky