feb09b.indd


speaking out, speaking up 
Michael J. McLane 

ACRL and advocacy 
Join the ACRL Legislative Advocates Program 

Erika Linke, 2008–09 ACRL president, has chosen advocacy as the focus for her 
presidential year. In her words, ACRL should 
be focused on “purposeful advocacy, specifi ­
cally in the ways that librarians can best use 
their voices, personally and collectively, to 
influence the issues that matter to academic 
and research librarians, be they professional, 
governmental, national or local.”1 

This presidential focus on advocacy is most 
welcome to many members of ACRL, particu­
larly to past and present members of ACRL’s 
Governmental Relations Committee, who have 
dedicated many hours developing the ACRL 
Legislative Agenda,2 which the committee up­
dates annually. In addition, each ACRL chapter 
across the country has a legislative liaison 
whose purpose is to keep current on legislative 
issues and actions of importance to academic 
and research librarians, and to encourage the 
members of each chapter to be informed and 
to participate in library advocacy activities in 
a variety of ways. 

Within the past 18 months, however, the 
ACRL Leadership and the Government Rela­
tions Committee felt strongly that ACRL needed 
to take an even more proactive stance in the 
area of advocacy on library issues, particularly 
on the federal level. Increasingly, many issues 
of great importance to academic and research 
librarians were the focus of government inter­
est, action, and/or legislation. 

Among these issues were access to gov­
ernment information, censorship, copyright 
issues in the digital age, and privacy of library 
patron information. These issues are, of 
course, of interest to all librarians, but many 
of them directly affect academic and research 
libraries and librarians. 

The result of this concern was the creation 
of the ACRL Legislative Advocates Program. 
The intent of this program is to recruit, edu­
cate, and empower a group of academic and 
research librarians who will actively, knowl­
edgeably, and consistently work with their 
institutional leaders and with state and federal 
legislators to promote government actions 
and legislation that will support the goals ex­
pressed in the ACRL Legislative Agenda. 

The ACRL Legislative Advocates Program is 
overseen by the ACRL Government Relations 
Committee, whose current chair is Jonathan 
Miller (Rollins College). The Legislative Advo­
cates are directly supported by Kara Malenfant, 
(ACRL scholarly communications and govern­
ment relations specialist) and Michael McLane 
(ACRL visiting program officer for the legisla­
tive advocates program). 

Any ACRL member interested in working 
with his or her campus leaders and state and 
federal legislators regarding issues affecting 
libraries is encouraged to apply to become 
an ACRL legislative advocate. However, se­
lection is not automatic: those qualifi ed will 
serve their profession for a two­year term, 
which may be renewed upon review by the 
Government Relations Committee. Legislative 
advocates will be recognized and honored on 
the ACRL Web site, annually in C&RL News, 
and during ALA National Library Legislative 
Day activities. 

The qualifications and responsibilities of 
the ACRL Legislative Advocates Program are 
as follows: 

Michael J. McLane is ACRL visiting program offi  cer for 
legislative advocacy, e-mail: acrladvocates@ala.org 
© 2009 Michael J. McLane 

C&RL News February 2009  108 

mailto:acrladvocates@ala.org


To qualify as an ACRL legislative advocate, 
each person will agree to take on a set of 
responsibilities that further ACRL’s legislative 
advocacy goals. Specifically each advocate is 
expected to: 

1. Become familiar with major legislative 
issues of importance to ACRL, as outlined in 
the ACRL legislative agenda, which is updated 
annually. 

2. Establish relationships with the staff of 
the two senators from his or her state, as well 
as the staff of his or her local representative. 

3. Visit the in­state offices and, as possible, 
the Washington, D.C., offices of his or her 
senators and legislator. 

4. Communicate by e­mail, phone, or writ­
ten communication with senators and local 
representative on selected issues of importance 
(three or four per year) that are identifi ed by 
the ACRL government relations specialist. 

5. Develop relationships with president, 
provost, members of the faculty, and other 
members of the academy who may be advo­
cates for library issues. 

6. As needed, attend an advocacy training 
workshop, one time, either virtual or face­to­
face, at either the ALA Midwinter Meeting or 
ALA Annual Conference. 

7. Attend an annual briefing on legislative 
issues that will be held in conjunction with 
either the ALA Midwinter Meeting or ALA An­
nual Conference or provided virtually. 

8. Be available for consultation with the 
ACRL office and/or the ALA Washington Offi ce 
on issues important to higher education and 
academic libraries. 

9. Work with the chapter legislative coordi­
nator for the local ACRL chapter on advocacy 
issues. 

10. Complete semi­annual and annual re­
ports to ACRL on advocacy activities. 

11. Maintain membership in ALA and 
ACRL. 

I would like to emphasize that while it 
is a requirement that an ACRL legislative 
advocate be a member of ALA and ACRL, it 
is not a requirement that an advocate attend 
in person the ALA Midwinter Meeting or ALA 
Annual Conferences or National Library Legis­

lative Day in Washington (although we would 
certainly welcome you!). ACRL is planning a 
number of virtual events that will allow legisla­
tive advocates and others to participate more 
fully in library advocacy activities. 

If you are interested in becoming an ACRL 
legislative advocate, you may apply online at 
cs.ala.org/acrl/legadvocates/xxindex.cfm. 

If you have questions or suggestions re­
garding the program, please contact Michael 
McLane, the ACRL visiting program offi cer for 
legislative advocacy at acrladvocates@ala.org. 

ALA has a proud history of effective 
advocacy on behalf of libraries and library 
issues. The ALA Washington Office and its 
Web site (www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offi ces/ 
wo/index.cfm) offer a wealth of information 
on important legislative issues and their 
current status, as well as information and 
recommendations on many other issues 
facing librarians. 

It seems to me that, historically, the 
public library and the school library com­
munities have been much more effectively 
involved in the area of library advocacy 
than has the academic and research library 
community. It is past time for us to take our 
place alongside our colleagues in this most 
important activity. Please consider becoming 
an ACRL legislative advocate and make your 
(our) voices heard! In the words of President 
Erika Linke, effective advocacy “will enable 
ACRL members to exert greater infl uence 
on the higher education and research en­
vironment.”3 

And in these days of change on the na­
tional governmental scene, it may well be 
that we can have more influence than ever 
in moving our agenda forward. 

Notes
1. Erika Linke, “Message from the Vice 

President,” C&RL News, December 2008, 706. 
2. ACRL Legislative Agenda is at 

www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/issues 
/washingtonwatch/washingtonwatch. 
cfm#agenda. 

3. Linke, “Message from the vice presi­
dent.” 

February 2009  109 C&RL News 

www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/issues
www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offi
mailto:acrladvocates@ala.org