Best Practices for State Advocacy Websites

People IconLibrary workers and supporters visit state advocacy websites for many reasons. Most often, they want information about a particular issue, hope to learn about the association's priorities or positions, or seek assistance. These best practices reflect the most common entry points for visitors and encourage easy access to information and tools for action.

  Practice Examples
An illustration of two internet windows and a large magnifying glass over the windows. 1. Identify policy issues
  • Describe the policy environment
  • Define the association's key policy issues
  • Address other policy issues that are tracked/monitored

AK LA's Legislative and Policy Priorities

IL LA's State and Federal Policy Page

TX LA's Advocacy Page

A book illustration. 2. Define advocacy
  • Clearly define advocacy and how it differs from lobbying
  • Outline the association’s role

IL LA's Creating or Changing Illinois State Library Law

ME LA's Legislative Advocacy Group

MI LA's MLA Advocacy

The Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook logos. 3. Provide clear messaging
  • Offer a focused list of unified talking points 
  • Support message delivery via multiple channels 
  • Include feedback loop

CA LA's Advocacy Talking Points

DC LA's DCLA Tweets

SC LA's Our Tweets

An illustration of a speaker at a podium and three people in front of the podium. 4. Identify elected officials
  • Use Engage tool to help members identify their elected officials
  • Show legislative calendars
  • Offer information about your representative’s present and past stances

CT LA's Speak Up

GA LA's Find Your Elected Officials

A calendar illustration with a check mark on one of the dates. The words "Advocacy Day!" are to the right of the check mark. 5. Display important dates/calendars Link to legislative calendars and note key dates
  • List advocacy meetings, professional development and events
  • Highlight state and federal advocacy days

IL LA's IL General Assembly Calendar

NY LA's Advocacy Events

SD LA's Advocacy Events

An illustration of a speaker pointing at a screen with a pie chart on it. 6. Provide action tools
  • Link to action requests
  • Offer opportunities for involvement
  • Link to trainings, guides and resources 

IN LF's Advocacy Planning Guide

ME LA's Legislative Advocacy Group

TX LA's TLA Advocacy

A laptop illustration with an ascending bar graph. To the right of the laptop is an exclamation point. 7. Provide updates
  • Show measures of success
  • Communicate consistently
  • Add alert feeds

AK LA's Advocacy Updates

DE LA's Advocacy Alerts and News

WA LA's Legislative Wrap-Up

A public library illustration and a school library illustration. 8. Reflect advocacy across the library ecosystem
  • Ensure different library types and roles are represented
  • Connect priorities to broader community concerns

KA LA's Sections & Communities of Practice

MN LA's MLA's Subunits

An illustration of a simple webpage with two lines to represent two of lines of text, along with a square to represent an image. 9. Incorporate usability best practices
  • Display information so that it is readily available/not overly embedded
  • Create an intuitive design for navigation

IN LF's ILF Advocacy

An illustration of two interlocking chain links.

10. Link to partner organizations, including ALA

                                  

IA LA's Strategic Partners

OR LA's Partner Sites

 

 


These best practices were developed by ALA's Committee on Library Advocacy based on review of state association websites as well as scans of advocacy organizations nationwide.