February is National Library Lovers Month, so if you’ve been wondering how to get more involved with your local library, now’s a great time to do so. But more than that, libraries have been under political attack for the last several years, and the new presidential administration is looking to escalate that work. From the Department of Education’s recent decision to end the book ban “hoax,” to the coordinated efforts from Moms for Liberty to infiltrate school and library boards, to the number of bomb threats made against libraries in the last several years, libraries are struggling. And the biggest way we can push back against these attacks is with public involvement and support.
I’ve worked in public libraries for over 13 years, in roles that have ranged from part-time circulation clerk to interim executive director, so I have a lot of thoughts on how patrons can most effectively get involved. Read on, and remember that library support doesn’t end in February!
Sign Up For a Library Card
It should go without saying that the easiest way to get involved with your library is to sign up for a library card. This is your entry point to all of your library’s resources and collections, and you’re contributing valuable data to prove that the library is an essential community asset. If you already have a card, double-check to make sure it’s up-to-date. Do you have family members who don’t have their own library cards? Get them signed up too! And once you have your card, make sure you use it!
As a side note, there are some people who have to pay an upfront fee in order to get a library card because they live in an unincorporated area that’s not served by a specific library district. The laws vary by state, so if you’re not sure if you fall into this category, reach out to your library.
Attend Library Programs
Take a peek at your library’s events calendar and you’ll find a delightful array of classes, book discussions, presentations, hands-on crafts, and live performances to choose from. Photoshop, ESL, storytimes, craft swaps, budgeting, cooking classes, author signings, trivia nights…the list stretches into infinity. Attending programs is another way you can become a useful data point, because attendance numbers are one of the biggest metrics library staff use when evaluating the success of a program.
Supporting programs also becomes extremely important when they support BIPOC or LGBTQ people, because these are the programs that tend to attract negative attention from the public. Just think of how many violent threats libraries have faced for offering Drag Queen Story Times over the years. Even if you’re not able to attend these types of programs, you can still contact your library administration and tell them how much you value their commitment to education and inclusion in the community.
Join the Friends of the Library or a Library Foundation
Even the most well-funded libraries can use additional monetary support, and that’s where Friends of the Library and library foundations come into play. Both types of groups deal with raising money for library needs, but Friends of the Library groups are typically run by volunteers and often raise money for programs, new collections, or new technology, while library foundations typically raise money on a larger, more targeted scale for capital needs.
See if your local library has a Friends group that you can join, or see if there are any upcoming fundraising events that need staffing. And if you have particular skills, such as marketing, photography, graphic design, or social media strategy, reach out to see if you can help these groups fill a specific need.
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Run For Your Library Board (Or Just Attend More Meetings)
If you’re really committed to getting involved with your library, one of the biggest impacts you can have is to run for your library board. Groups like Moms for Liberty are targeting school and library boards in the hopes of pushing their far-right agendas on the public, so the more pro-library trustees we can get onto our library boards, the better.
This is a long-term commitment, and one that will require a fair amount of effort, but it can have a tremendous impact on the library and in the community. And if you’re not ready to make that type of commitment, you can still be involved with your library board as an informed citizen. Attend monthly board meetings, and read through the agendas and meeting minutes to stay on top of what’s happening. And don’t be afraid to contact the board or the director: hearing from the public can sometimes push an organization towards positive change.
Create Partnerships With the Library
If you teach or own a local business, take a look to see what resources the library offers for classrooms or small business owners. You may even be able to get a special library card for educators or business owners! And you may be able to partner with the library in other ways as well. Can you bring your classroom to the library for a visit? Can your business donate prizes for the summer reading program? The conversations and possibilities are endless!
What About Volunteering?
Different libraries have different expectations around volunteers. Some small/rural libraries rely heavily on volunteers to do work that would typically be performed by paid staff in a larger library system, while others limit volunteer activity to specific age groups (such as middle schoolers and teens).
Volunteering can also be tricky because we would often have patrons asking if we could use volunteers to run programs or other higher-level library responsibilities. In some libraries, this might be doable, but in a lot of cases, there’s a ton of expertise and planning that goes into providing these services, and it’s not something that can simply be handed over to a random person. So don’t be surprised if volunteering options are somewhat limited.
What About Book Donations?
Monetary donations are great! Material donations, however, are very dependent on the individual library. Some libraries with very small budgets make use of patron donations to supplement their collections, and some libraries hold massive used book sales and actively solicit donations throughout the year. But let’s be realistic: most donated materials that libraries get are outdated, in poor physical condition, or don’t meet the needs of the collection, and a lot of libraries don’t have the storage space or the staff time to sift through boxes of donations. So please make sure to double check that your library can accept donated materials first, and if they can’t, don’t just drop off the donations in the return bin and be on your merry way.
And check out some of these other resources on how to support public libraries: