Advocacy Initiatives

ALA's Public Policy and Advocacy office engages in both staff and member-led projects that advance policy and advocacy objectives across local, state, and federal arenas. Current and recent projects include:

 

ALA Ecosystem Initiative

ALA's Ecosystem Initiative was launched to support stronger relationships across library organizations, as well as to assess and improve the structures and policies within ALA that develop and sustain a strong nationwide library ecosystem. As part of that effort, a task force published One Voice: Building a Strong Library Ecosystem, a toolkit to help library organizations assess and extend the strength of their ecosystems. Today, that work continues through the Committee on Library Advocacy's Ecosystem Subcommittee.

 

Holding Space: a national conversation series with libraries

"Holding Space: A national conversation series with libraries" was ALA's nationwide virtual tour to highlight the innovation and impact of a diverse range of libraries and engage stakeholders to advocate for libraries and the communities they serve. The twelve-stop, cross country tour engaged library workers, community partners, elected officials, and others to highlight how libraries are addressing issues facing their communities and helping communities respond to and recover from impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Libraries Build Business

Libraries Build Business (LBB) is a national initiative supported by Google.org to build capacity in libraries offering programming or services to local entrepreneurs and the small business community. The purpose of this initiative will be to answer the following question: What library-led entrepreneurship models will best help low-income and/or underrepresented entrepreneurs start and grow small businesses? 

 

 

Unite Against Book Bans

Unite Against Book Bans is a national campaign to empower readers everywhere to stand up for the right to read. This research-based, public-facing campaign unifies the voice of national, state, and local organizations--along with individual advocates--and walks alongside the longstanding work of ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom and Public Policy and Advocacy Office.