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I'm sure I'm not the only faculty member who discusses advocacy in youth services courses. In addition to budgets and financing, we explore issues such as outreach to the underserved, services for the differently-abled, for all varieties of "family," for immigrants, etc., and how to justify them to library boards and to communities. I emphasize that, as librarians, we are advocates for all of the marginalized groups in our communities. In the future, I will include librarians as one of those groups. As Rabbi Hillel said, "If I am not for myself, then who will be for me?" Librarians will not be able to serve as advocates for others if they themselves are not respected as experts and professionals by those in power. Suzanne M. Stauffer, Ph.D. Assistant Professor School of Library and Information Science Louisiana State University 275 Coates Hall Baton Rouge, LA 70803 (225)578-1461 Fax: (225)578-4581 [log in to unmask] Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information? --T.S. Eliot, "Choruses from The Rock" ________________________________ From: Open Lib/Info Sci Education Forum on behalf of Elsa F. Kramer Sent: Fri 9/30/2011 9:00 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Sam's post Advocacy is such an essential component of librarianship that it should be included in one or more LIS core courses and not just in an elective course some students might miss. Including the subject in a required library management course allows all students to discover the difference between marketing and advocacy; the importance of advocacy to the future of libraries; and the necessary role of all library staff in advocacy to all stakeholders, all the time. LIS students, regardless of their career goals, also would benefit in the job market by knowing more about finance and budgets. An understanding of where the money comes from and why, and how it is spent, is the underpinning of effective advocacy. Elsa Kramer, MLS Adjunct Faculty School of Library and Information Science Indiana University - Indianapolis [log in to unmask] Date: Wed, 28 Sep 2011 20:58:13 -0500 From: "Crowley, Bill" <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: Sam's post Greetings All: I agree that teaching effective advocacy has become a necessity for all library and information education programs that have any interest whatsoever in (a) their futures, (b) the prospects of their graduates, and (c) the fortunes of the various components of the library, information, knowledge, and archival professions. Almost all the chapter authors of Defending Professionalism: A Resource for Librarians, Information Specialists, Knowledge Managers, and Archivists, an in-process Libraries Unlimited work, found themselves dealing with the necessity of effective advocacy in all the contexts noted. In addition to describing the need, the authors offered a range of solutions. Once such solution was the recommendation that all library and education programs offer a course in advocacy. Regards, Bill Bill Crowley, Ph.D. Professor Graduate School of Library and Information Science Dominican University 7900 West Division Street River Forest, IL 60305 708.524.6513 v 708.524.6657 f [log in to unmask] www.gslis.dom.edu <http://www.gslis.dom.edu/>