Get Your Key Message Across Effectively

By Dorcas Hand, Editor of TASLTalks

As a member of a non-library board, I am learning a little about fundraising techniques. After participating in this organization’s board discussions, I’ve been struck by the fact that those techniques are remarkably similar to what we call “advocacy” in schools and libraries.  The biggest point of commonality? In order to get results, we have to be really clear about our message. What is the bottom line for our “ask?”

You’ve been reading in the library literature about elevator speeches and such forever. But then this new approach – this key message grid – landed in my inbox from the other organization.  It looks  like this:

The minute I saw this, my board member hat fell off as the wheels began spinning: how could I make this work for school libraries. It is such a simple, step-by-step method to build your talking points. You can see this example is very basic, working to get more face time with students – but it works for more sophisticated topics as well.

This second one doesn’t yet have the last column, but I think you get the general idea. Make it work for you! Whether it is an elevator speech you need, or a project/program proposal, this method is helpful – with every audience, depending how you focus the supporting info and the Ask.

ALA offers ESSA Elevator Speech Examples planned by the same grid approach. I guess my discovery isn't so new - but maybe you didn't know it either and will find it useful. And we're all working on ESSA topics these days!

Go ahead, pick any general point you want to make. Take it from a general statement to directed content specific to your library and your community. Build in your supporting info. What do you want to happen after your audience hears this info? How can you tailor it even more to the specific person or group so that they can see exactly what they might do to support your school library. “Mr. Smith, please stop by to see the work second graders have done learning about turtles using library resources. I’d love to chat about ways to make the library even better.” “Mr. Smith, third grade has enjoyed using iPads to find the right books for their library research – they just don’t have internet or books at home. We would love more iPads – I think PTA might help us, with your support.”

I offered a template to the Key Message Grid at the District 10 Fall conference - perhaps it will make your job easier.

In some ways, this is just the same thing we’ve always done – but the grid makes it seem so much clearer and easier. At least to me. So try it. See if you can get some unexpected results because you have clarified your message and focused it to a specific person or group. I’d love to hear what results you get!  Use the “Reply” function on this blog – other readers will also appreciate your applications of the grid idea. Really -yes, you!

Advocacy Made Simple: Reaching Local Supporters and Decision Makers

By Dorcas Hand, Editor of TASLTalks blog

The TLA Legislative Committee has recently been sponsoring a series of free and openly available webinars called Doable Action series focused on advocacy. Two main threads ran across several library types (public, academic and school): Rallying Supporters and Empowering Friends and Reaching and Talking To Local Decision Makers. The series will wrap up on Dec. 7 with a final session for all librarians together, State Advocacy for Librarians to prepare us to talk to our legislators as the new legislative session begins in the spring- you can register now. Thanks to Jennifer LaBoon and Becky Sullivan, along with Gloria Meraz and Ted Wanner, for cooking this series up - it focuses on practical tips and resources to help us be ready every day to make things better for our library programs.

On September 29, Cindy Buchanan (Aldine ISD) and Nicole Cruz (Sharyland ISD) offered their array of ideas on how to get your local community behind your efforts. School Libraries Rallying Supporters and Empowering Friends is archived in the TXLA Continuing Education Corner for anyone to view later, and there is an accompanying quiz for anyone who needs CE credit. My favorite tip is that Persistence pays off - I translate that to mean that “No” is an opportunity to rework a request for greater success. You know that students don’t always get a new idea the first time it is presented in class - so the teacher reworks the presentation until the student does get it. Our stakeholders need the same care and attention.

On October 12, Susi Grissom and I offered School Libraries Reaching and Talking To Local Decision Makers, also archived in the CE Corner. In addition to the full recording, we offer you an extensive list of resources, organized by the slide they relate to. As we were building the slide show, we realized we wanted to bring you the direct voice of administrators so that you would know what they listen to best - so we did. TASL’s 2016 Administrator of the Year Chris Nester sat with his librarian, Debra Marshall in the library at Wilson Elementary in Coppell ISD to tell us how he learned how essential libraries are to his students and what to expect of a good librarian. And Superintendent Dr. Bill Chapman of Jarrell ISD with his District Librarian Vanessa Ascraft offer us a tutorial in how to talk to administrators so that you are more likely to get what you ask for. These videos are worth watching on their own, and showing to your colleagues - please take advantage of their availability. And if you see either admin or librarian, thank them for taking the time to make these 5 minute videos that are so helpful to us.

Links to the presentations are also available on the TASL Advocacy webpage. So now, in the comfort of your own home or office, take time to watch and learn. Improve your advocacy tools and then apply them for greater success. And Share with your library colleagues or with your staff.  That’s why they are archived and easy to find again and again.

ESSA Survey for TEA – NOW! Spread the Word WIDELY

by Dorcas Hand, Editor of TASLTalks, with help from Jennifer Rike and Wendy Woodland

ESSA – Every Student Succeeds Act – is the buzz this fall. Signed into federal law last December, every kind of K-12 educator wants to be included in this potential pot of money. The process of being approved for funding is in full swing, to be immediately followed by the application for funding. School Librarians are included in the actual language of the law, for the first time – but to actually get benefits, we have to convince our principals, district leadership and – most immediately – the TEA Team working on the state plan to name us in the state ()nd later the local, plan.

TEA has decided to send a survey out to everyone – a scattershot approach most likely to reach upper-level education administrators. The survey does not mention the word library – surprised? But a team of folks with TLA and TASL have developed a set of Talking Points to help respondents include libraries in many answers. Great – we have the tools we need.

What’s missing??? Lots of respondents willing to do this. Translate that to YOU – and all your parents, teachers, community, … Every person you can convince to respond should – and should mention libraries as many times as possible.

On the survey, key questions for us are:

Q3: What should Texas adopt for its measure of school quality or school success?

Q5: How can we ensure that all Texas students have a quality education that prepares them for success, especially students with disabilities or various backgrounds (e.g. poverty, English learners, and foster care)?

Q6: What knowledge, experiences, and skills should Texas students possess to be ready for success in college, careers, and/or military?

Q7: A goal of our state is to ensure that all students – and especially our most vulnerable students – have great teachers and principals. What strategies can we use to ensure all students have access to high-quality teachers and principals across the state?

Q8: What are the important things we can do improve struggling schools?

Q9: Do you have any additional input for Texas’ ESSA Consolidated State Plan?

Each question has a place for a short answer – use it. Tell them what we, the school library community, needs them to hear. (3) Effective school library programs make a difference in student achievement – tell them how. (5) We are always talking about Equity. (6) 21^st century skills, research skills, … - be specific about life and career ready. (7) Back to Equity – Book deserts, technology deserts, digital resource deserts… (8) Community learning centers wit enrichment already in place. (9) Effective school library programs close student performance gaps and increase post-secondary readiness… tie it up with a big red bow. Copy/paste from the PDF – or, even better, use your own words and examples.

Most important – get lots of your local stakeholders to help. We want to inundate TEA with responses that talk about how school libraries matter. Click here to open the survey - ASAP. By November 18. No time to waste!