Ten libraries selected to receive advocacy training as part of Neal-Schuman Foundation grant to United for Libraries

PHILADELPHIA — United for Libraries has selected 10 libraries to receive expert advocacy training in cycle one of the Citizens-Save-Libraries program, funded by the Neal-Schuman Foundation.

Advocacy experts will provide onsite training to friends of the library groups, library, directors and trustees and help them develop blueprints for advocacy campaigns to restore, increase or save threatened library budgets. Those libraries and groups selected for training have committed to share their knowledge and experiences through presentations at local conferences, articles written for state library association journals and via webinars and Skype calls.

The following libraries/groups were selected to receive expert consultation in cycle one of the Citizens-Save-Libraries grants:

• Clarkston (Mich.) Independence District Library
• Eisner Memorial Library (Red Bank, N.J.)
• Friends of the Dallas (Texas) Public Library
• Friends of the Long Beach (Calif.) Public Library
• Gladstone (Ore.) Public Library
• Gilmanton (N.H.) Year-Round Library
• Josephine Community Libraries (Grants Pass, Ore.)
• Pomona (Calif.) Public Library
• Salem-South Lyon (Mich.) District Library
• Winona (Minn.) Public Library

In order to assist libraries beyond the 10 that were selected for training, a Citizens-Save-Libraries Power Guide for Successful Advocacy is being made available at no cost to all libraries at http://www.ala.org/united/powerguide. The guide provides a step-by-step blueprint for libraries to follow in generating their own advocacy campaigns.

Applications for cycle two grants will be available in January 2014. Application materials will be due April 15, 2014, and grantees will be notified by May 15, 2014. On-site trainings will be held June 1, 2014 to May 1, 2015. For more information, visit http://www.ala.org/united/grants_awards/neal-schuman.

United for Libraries: The Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations, is a division of the American Library Association that supports citizens who govern, promote, advocate, and fundraise for libraries. United for Libraries brings together library Trustees, advocates, friends, and foundations into a partnership that creates a powerful force for libraries in the 21st century. For more information or to join United for Libraries, visit the United for Libraries website or contact Jillian Kalonick at (312) 280-2161 or jkalonick@ala.org.

The Neal-Schuman Foundation, established in 2000 by Neal-Schuman Publishers' founders Patricia Glass Schuman and John Vincent Neal, strives to aid and promote charitable research and education for the improvement of libraries. An active American Library Association member and past president (1991-92), Schuman founded the Library Advocacy Now program and co-founded the Library Champions program.

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