4.3 How to Create a Successful Advocacy Program for Your Committee

Once your committee is in place, you'll be ready to take action! The AALL Government Relations Committee and Government Relations Office have mechanisms in place to both keep you informed of what's happening at the federal level as well as receive information from you as to what is happening on the state level. In this section we describe the ways in which your committee can become a strong and reliable voice in support of law libraries.

Create partnerships with the AALL Government Relations Committee and Government Relations Office

Forging a strong relationship with the AALL Government Relations Committee and Government Relations Office will help your chapter be effective on both the federal and state levels. This partnership is facilitated by Government Relations Committee "liaisons," who are members of the Government Relations Committee that work with their assigned chapters to form personal relationships and establish a channel of communication between the Government Relations Office, Government Relations Committee, and all of our chapters.

Liaisons will provide you with updates from the Government Relations Office, including the monthly Washington E-Bulletin which you can distribute on your chapter listserv. You'll find the list of current GRC chapter liaisons on the Government Relations Committee Web site . We are always pleased to include chapter news in the E-Bulletin that relates to legislation you are tracking and policy-related events your chapter is hosting. Please let Emily Feldman or your chapter liaison know when something comes up.

Monitor Legislation

As a committee, you'll also be responsible for monitoring legislation on the state level. By tracking legislation on your State Legislature or General Assembly's Web site, you'll be able to keep your chapter informed about the important issues surfacing in your state.

Your chapter's listerv is an important tool to help you with your work. Keeping chapter members informed will help you create a grassroots network that you can activate when issues start moving! When state issues arise, please also inform your GRC liaison or the Government Relations Office staff so that we're aware of the important issues around the country. Most often, they're the same ones we're working on at the federal level.

Influence Policy at the Federal and State Levels

Chapters have a critical role to play in influencing legislation at the federal and state levels. The most important way to impact policy is by forming trusting relationships with your representatives and their staff.

Learn how your chapter can identify key members of Congress and take action at the federal level. In addition, learn how to influence legislation at the state level by getting to know the politics and players and taking action when the time is right.

Section 4.4 Case Studies

Back to the Table of Contents