A parting challenge from Dr. Slone

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dr. Slone herself had something to add to finish out our big week here at the Library Advocacy Lounge. She has posed the following challenge to the entire class, and would like us all to weigh in with our own thoughts.

Advocacy Challenge

(Disclaimer: This is a made-up story based verrrry loosely on a real life situation. It is more fiction than fact.)

There once was an elementary school, called Oasis, located in a middle-class, culturally diverse neighborhood that was a "Mecca" for politically savvy, progressive people. The staff at the local library was heavily involved in activities at Oasis and the surrounding community.

One day, a new library needed to be built. The librarians at the branch near Oasis found an ideal spot and developed an initial plan. The plan began with putting together an advocacy group and attending an upcoming commissioners meeting.

At the meeting, when time came to discuss the relocation plan, the head of the county commission announced that the plan to build the library at the new site should be thrown out because Oasis was built on an earthquake fault and needed the spot. Attendees were invited to give their opinions about the developments.

To the librarians' dismay, most people wanted Oasis to stay where it was. They argued that the school was only 12 years old, and that their property values would go down if there was no school in the immediate vicinity.

The advocacy group did not wish to oppose the plans to rebuild Oasis. They felt that the school should have priority for the new spot; so, they set out to find another one. The site they found, however, would cost $67,000 more to buy. The city commissioners and Friends of the Library balked at the cost. The library board reminded the advocacy group that even if the library turned down the disputed spot, there was no guarantee that the school would be rebuilt there. The group was also informed that the issue was outside the realm of library advocacy. The group disagreed. They felt that, as part of the community, the library should not stand in the way of the safety of their patrons. They set the following priorities:

1). develop a new advocacy plan;
2). raise the money for the new site;
3). support and advocate for the rebuilding of Oasis on the coveted site.

Is this real library advocacy, or is the issue none of the librarian's business?

--Debra J. Slone, Assistant Professor