Persistence Pays! Ideas for
Connecting with Lawmakers At Home
An ALA Washington Office
Advocacy Webinar.
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Who’s Speaking?
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About the Webinar
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What’s Happening?
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Questions
Follow-Up Materials
Recording
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Topics
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Why Persistence Works
Top 7 Ideas for Being Persistent (without
being irritating)
What Will You Do TODAY?
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Where are we starting from?
Let’s go to the poll…
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Breaking News!
Report on Citizen
Engagement with
Congress
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What is Persistence?
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To hold firmly and steadfastly to a purpose,
state, or undertaking…
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… despite obstacles, warnings, or setbacks
(that’s the hard part, right?)
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Barriers to Persistence
Why do we “give up”? Let’s go to the poll!
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Barriers to Persistence
Not enough time
Quick and Easy Ideas
I forget
Subscribe to ALA Pubs
Don’t want to be a pest
Everyone else is!
Don’t think it will work
Let’s see…
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Will it Work? Why Legislators Don’t
Respond
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The legislator forgets about your first (or second, or
third) ask
The legislator needs time to form an opinion about
your ask
The legislator wants to know how bad you want it
Surprisingly, it’s not often because they don’t agree
with you. If they don’t agree, they’ll usually say so.
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Persistence Solves all these Problems
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We remind the
legislator what we want
We help the legislator
make a decision
We let the legislator
know we’re serious!
Top 7 Ideas
Ranging from about 5
hours to less than 5
minutes!
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Number 7: Ask again!
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What did you ask for during Leg Day?
What have you asked your local legislators
for recently?
Call, write or use the ALA Legislative Action
Center
Timing: Approximately 15 minutes
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Number 6: Site Visit
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What is it?
What can you do?
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Van ride along?
Summer reading program?
See ALA’s Top 10 Ideas for Library Site Visits
How to put one together
Timing: about five hours to put together and
conduct
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Number 5: Try ONE New Outreach
Tool (here are THREE to consider)
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Google Blog Search and Comment (five
minutes)
Take READ Posters of Legislators and post
on Flickr (to arrange, about one hour. To
post, five minutes).
Is your elected official on Facebook? If so,
sign up as a supporter / friend and post a
friendly message. (Five minutes)
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Number 4: Attend a town hall meeting
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What are they?
Why are they good to go to?
How can you find out about
them?
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When might they be?
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Try the legislator’s website
or call the district office
See the House and Senate
schedules
Timing: Approximately one
hour
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Number 3: Combine an “Ask” with a
“Thank You”
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PALS Example
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What Can You Do?
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Ask: Will you pose for our
“Read” poster?
Thank You: Have library
supporters sign a copy and
send to the legislator!
Ask: Will you visit our
library?
Thank you: Dedicate a
book
Others?
Number 2: Participate in the Annual
Conference “Virtual Hill Day!”
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On July 1st from 8am to 12pm the ALA OGR staff will
be hosting a “Virtual Hill Day” at the exhibit hall.
All computers will be available for attendees to send
messages through CapWiz
Volunteers needed!
See District Dispatch for more information
Timing: For volunteer up to 2 hours. For participant,
no more than 10 minutes.
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Number 1: Get Involved in the
Elections
Top Three Ideas:
 Voter Drive (See ALA’s Rock the Vote Site)
 Host a candidate forum at your library
 Utilize ALA’s Scorecard
 Timing: Register / review scorecard – no more than
10 minutes; Host a candidate forum – about five hours
Want more ideas? Join our webinar on this topic later
in the year.
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What next?
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What are you going to
do in the next six
months to be more
persistent?
Let’s go to the poll!
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