PR Hint - Sept 2006 - Solving Pressing Community Challenges

Greetings to Montana librarians from your friendly MLA PR & Marketing Committee!

Want to assist us in writing PR Hints for Wired, help Montana libraries think of ways to market their services and produce documents to do that, put together a program, table, and poster session at the MLA Conference, help with the Montana librarians' calendar, and oh so much more?! Then join the MLA PR & Marketing Committee. We currently have several committee openings for enthusiastic and energetic librarians who want to help us get the word out about the great things librarians and libraries are doing in Montana. If you have a passion for what we do, you're the perfect person for this committee.

Shoot me an e-mail if you'd like to join the MLA PR & Marketing Committee--or if you'd like more information. And hey, congratulations to committee member Patricia Spencer of the Lewis & Clark Public Library, who recently delivered a bouncing baby girl named Jordyn!
Thanks--hope to hear from you!
Lisa
MLA PR & Marketing Committee Chair

PR HINT--Libraries can Play a Key Role in Solving Pressing Community Challenges

What do your users think of your library? What does the public think of libraries generally? An Americans for Libraries Council sponsored a study to learn what Americans think of libraries in the age of the Internet. It was conducted by Public Agenda and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It shows that libraries are poised to lead the way to solutions to today's pressing community problems, including providing a safe and engaging place for teens; building a strong and literate workforce; and extending access to technology. It also finds that taking on such challenges is the best bet for libraries to strengthen their communities and their own funding futures. The final report, "Long Overdue: A Fresh Look at Public and Leadership Attitudes About Libraries in the 21st Century," has been published and can be downloaded, along with commentary, at http://www.lff.org/long_overdue061306.html. A glimpse into the results shows that libraries top the list of public services receiving an "A"
grade, ahead even of police and schools; more than half the public (52
percent) would rather raise taxes than cut library services or charge fees for them and nine in ten Americans believe that libraries will be
needed in the future, regardless of technological developments. But
along with the good news comes a wake-up call to the library community:
-Engaged citizens who vote in local elections and care deeply about libraries are no more likely than others to support libraries financially, or to advocate for their well-being - they simply don't know that library funding may be in jeopardy; -Elected officials recognize that communities trust libraries, but they do not fully employ (or fund) libraries to solve pressing community problems - problems that libraries are uniquely positioned to help resolve.
Now, what can YOU do with this report in your local Montana libraries?
See http://www.lff.org/long_overdue061306.html#word for some great ways you can help spread the word at the local level that libraries can play a key role in solving pressing community challenges.

BONUS FEATURE: Interesting article--Librarians at the Gates (Commentary on Librarians' Preserving Public Access to Information by Joseph
Huff-Hannon)
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060828/librarians

Lisa Mecklenberg Jackson
J.D., M.L.I.S. Legislative Librarian