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Advocacy and activism is a goal in the association's 2022 - 2025 . The 2012 indicated that only 1 in 3 public libraries has a young adult specialist on staff. Recent studies from the NCES indicate that only 79% of secondary schools employ a school librarian. Ongoing advocacy efforts can help ensure that all teens have access to great libraries! Share your advocacy ideas, successes and challenges with us on Twitter by using the #act4teens hashtag.

What You Can Do

Tools to Get You Started

• YALSA's Advocacy Toolkit (PDF)
• YALSA's Advocacy Benchmarks by Activity (PDF)
• YALSA's Advocacy Benchmarks by Category (PDF)
• YALSA's Advocacy Benchmarks Infographic (PDF)
• (4 minute video)

If you have 5 minutes or less...

• Spread the word: share this brief with library supervisors, school principals, elected officials, policy makers and other local VIPs, or link to it from your site. Send them this Fact Sheet from IMLS "" (.pdf)
• Inform: share this and (.pdf) with library supervisors, school principals, elected officials, policy makers and other local VIPs, or link to it from your site
• Share: tell YALSA how you & your library help teens via this .
• Plan to participate in . It's quick and easy!
• Nominate yourself or someone else to be featured as YALSA's Advocate of the month via this .

If you have 15 minutes...

• Share news & Information with Policy Makers:
  • email or snail mail this Issue Brief: Libraries Help Keep Teens Safe Online (.pdf) as well as this one Issue Brief: Teens Need Libraries (.pdf)
  • send them a newspaper clipping about a past library event
  • send them an invitation to an upcoming library event
  • add them to your newsletter mailing list
  • print fill out, and mail a to your members of Congress

If you have an hour...

• Give a presentation to your coworkers or colleagues at a library workshop or conference. YALSA has created a presentation on advocacy that you are welcome to download and use. It's called .
• Speak up at staff meetings & community events: use free (.pdf).
• Reach out to Local VIPs to educate them about the great things your library does for teens. Use this free to help you.
• Send a resolution in support of libraries to an elected official in your state and ask them to sponsor it in the state legislature. Everything you need is in this MS Word document. Or send this resolution (MS Word) in support of school libraries.
• Engage supporters: print out these and have library advocates fill them out and mail them to your members of Congress

If you have lots of time...

• Start a Teen Friends of the Library Group with free resources from , including this online .
• Attend in Washington DC with your state delegation, or brief your state delegation on teen services issues and give them YALSA handouts, including talking points and key legislative issues. In the past teen services issues have not been well represented at Legislative Day simply because not many teen services or secondary school librarians have taken an active role. Request free materials via this .
• Attend your state library legislative day (check your state library association's web site for dates and details) and distribute YALSA materials and talking points. Request free materials via this .
• Invite your elected officials to your library as part of , or any other time during the year. Adapt this sample invitation letter (.docx) and these press materials (.docx).
• Build your skills: take the free, self-paced online training from PLA,

Resources

• Blog posts about advocacy issues and tips on the .
• (from ALA)
• Go to , a web space full of free resources from the .
• Visit the advocacy page on to find and share links to great free resources.
• Watch this free 60 minute YALSA webinar,
• Read this Legislative Advocacy Guide (.pdf)
• For school library focused resources, visit AASL's .
• 2018 Legislative Day Talking Points (.pdf)
• Tip Sheet (.pdf) for getting teens involved in National Library Legislative Day (from the Harry Potter Alliance)
• Free from the Public Library Association
• ÂÜÀòÍøÊÓƵis running a public awareness campaign called
• Press release calling on Chicago Public Schools to reinstate school librarians
• Sample Messages about IMLS (.docx)
• (.docx)
• IMLS and YALSA (.pdf)
• (search videos for advocacy related topics)
• (search webinars for advocacy related topics)
• YALSA response to Forbes article.