1. Library Advocacy: The Lion’s Story
Wednesday Oct. 16, 2013
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Stephen Abram, MLS

2. Until lions learn to write their own story,
the story will always be from the perspective
of the hunter not the hunted.

3. 3
• Library Advocacy: The Lion's Story
• Are you framing your library's story well?
• Are you sharing measurements about your impact, or still beating the
drum of raw statistics that show funders where to cut?
• Are you using great gift of social media to engage and get your
message out.
• Has your library's marketing and communication plan stepped up to
the 21st Century?
• Are we ready for advanced data mining of our websites, circulation
and membership records?
• Are you ready for the reach beyond outreach?
• What are the skills and competencies that library teams need?

4. First . . .
Let’s stop using the word advocacy
Let’s discuss influence and being
influential . . .

5. 5
Second . . .
Let’s start using verbs to describe
ourselves in the context(s) of our
members, audiences and
communities.

6. Third . . .
Let’s build on our legacy of trust
and respect and our foundation of
collections and places to shine

7. 7
Foundations

8. 8
House

9. 9
Home

10. Fourth . . .
Let’s emphasize the humans that
make the magic happen . . . Library
staff

11. Grocery Stores

12. Grocery Stores

13. Grocery Stores

14. Cookbooks, Chefs . . .

15. Cookbooks, Chefs . . .

16. Meals

17. Fifth . . .
Let’s focus on VALUE, IMPACT, and
POSITIONING (VIP)
What’s the music and magic you hear?
Play? Do?

18. Are you locked into library
financial mindsets?

19. What about value and
impact?

20. Or shall we stick with this?

22. Fifth: Let’s talk to the right people
Who matters?
Who should be there?
How do we train ourselves?

23. Audiences
Politicians and Candidates
Scholars and scholarship
Communities
Ourselves: academic, public, school, special
and all the friends
Members and cardholders

24. It’s the stories that happen inside
your library that matter . . . Not just
the ones you have on the shelves.
Tell those stories
Encourage the heart . . .
Better yet . . . Collect the stories in
your users’ voices

25. Sustaining Relevance
Being Relevant
Communicating VIP
Real relationships
Being a ‘real’ professional

27. 27
The signs . . . There’s always another view…

30. Personal and Institutional Impact:
Strategies and Tactics
Let’s talk . . .

31. Are we a culture of poverty?

32. Do You Feel Poor?

35. Smelly
Yellow
Liquid
Or
Sex
Appeal
?

36. 36

37. Stephen Abram, MLS, FSLA
Consultant, Dysart & Jones/Lighthouse Consulting
Cel: 416-669-4855
stephen.abram@gmail.com
Stephen’s Lighthouse Blog
http://stephenslighthouse.com
Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr: Stephen Abram
LinkedIn: Stephen Abram
Twitter: @sabram
SlideShare: StephenAbram1

38. What Does
Boundarylessness
mean?
Borderless…