ALA-APA Legislation Task Force and General Advocacy

Prepared by The ALA-APA Working Group on Advocacy
Charles E. Beard, Chair

The American Library Association has a long, successful history of educating, lobbying and advocating for:

• adequate funding for libraries

• free, unrestricted access to all information and knowledge

• legislation and policies that support libraries and their services.

These activities and other governmental relations, lobbying, legislative activities and advocacy efforts will continue to be undertaken by the American Library Association’s Washington Office and other ALA units. Within the structure of the ALA-APA, ALA now has the opportunity to advocate and lobby openly for:

• better salaries for library staff members with a minimum beginning salary range

• improving the status of librarians in today’s “Information and Service Age”

• pay equity for librarians in their respective workplaces.

To realize these benefits for individual librarians and library workers, the ALA-APA may choose to:

• develop a blueprint for addressing pay equity for librarians and library workers

• work with other labor coalitions and unions to improve the status and salary of librarians and other library workers throughout the country

• create a mechanism for establishing official and unofficial collaborative relationships between the ALA-APA and other non-profit groups to promote the mutual professional interests of their members

• design campaigns to promote “Better Salaries for Library Staff” for use nationally, statewide or within local communities

• seek formal relationships with business enterprises whose strengths and reputations are well established

• engage in the established political activity of supporting and promoting individual candidates running for public office.