I am so excited to share with you all that TLA will be represented at the annual PLA conference held in Nashville February 2020. Below are details about the program to be presented by Sharon Edwards (TLA Legislative Monitor), Pat Bashir (Chair of TLA Diversity Committee), and myself. The pre-conference will take place February 25th from 2-5 PM. 

Please visit https://www.placonference.org/preconferences.cfm to see the full conference schedule and register for the conference. Hope to see you there!

Program Details:

Title: Developing Your Advocacy Assets
Description: Advocacy is a necessary part of a librarian's everyday job, yet the thought of it can be overwhelming and scary. In this interactive presentation, we will start by categorizing the spectrum of advocacy and connect it back to specific examples of persuasive communication, then dive into skill-building breakouts for attendees. The preconference will culminate in the importance of statistics and storytelling opportunities that empower librarians to advocate for not only our institutions but also our colleagues and diverse communities we serve.
Learning Outcomes: At the end of this session, you will be able to: Outcome One: Learn tangible advocacy methods such as identifying stakeholders, crafting a concise and consistent message, and designing persuasive campaigns, that can be used immediately Outcome Two: Conduct a community audit to recognize and utilize relationships currently in place and identify partnership opportunities to pursue in our communities to maximize the library's advocacy abilities Outcome Three: Identify and utilize statistics and infographics to advocate for our libraries, colleagues, and the diverse communities we serve