#LISprochat lead-in - topic & questions for Mon Aug 27 2018 - 8:30pm ET

Digital Public Library of America planning meeting via wikicommons

TOPIC

Advocating for yourself: Tips for getting your voice and ideas heard at work and on committees

Continuing our discussions about communications in and about libraries. Let's discuss how to advocate for ourselves within our libraries. Let's share tips and strategies for getting ourselves seen and heard in our workplaces, the organizations we volunteer for and on the committees, we serve on. Here are some articles to get you thinking:

10 ways to get your boss to support your ideas
How Can I Get My Boss to Listen to My Ideas?
Four Times Your Boss Doesn’t Want Your Input (And How To Get Heard Anyway)
How to Get Your Ideas Heard at Work
6 Ways to Make Yourself Heard with Your Boss
How to Get Your Voice Heard in Meetings
How to Make Yourself Heard — in Meetings and in Life
9 Ways Introverts Can Get Heard in Meetings
How to Be Heard When You Aren’t the Loudest Voice in the Room
10 Ways To Make Sure You're Heard In Meetings

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT WE'VE CHANGED THE TIME TO 8:30PM ET!

QUESTIONS

We post the questions here in advance of the chat so you can decide whether or not this topic is of interest to you and/or prepare your answers in advance.

Q1 How do you build your confidence when you're thinking about presenting an idea to your boss/your committee?

Q2 What tips do you have for getting more active in committee work and making impactful contributions on your committees?

Q3 How do you get your voice and ideas heard by those above you in your workplace and committee hierarchies?

Q4 What are your strategies for making sure your ideas are ready to be presented?

PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING IN ON TWITTER AT 8:30 PM ET NEXT MONDAY, AUGUST 27 USING THE #LISPROCHAT HASHTAG. 

#LISprochat lead-in - topic & questions for Mon Aug 6 2018 - 8:30pm ET

justgrimes via Flickr

TOPIC

Strategies for effectively communicating the value of libraries and library services

Coming on the heels of our fantastic chat on marketing in July I am sure this sounds like it could be really similar, but I'm thinking we can take this in a different direction. I'm sure by now you all heard about the disastrous (and retracted) article about Amazon replacing public libraries written by the head of economics at Long Island University that Forbes published a few weeks ago. If you haven't here are a few great rebuttals:

Why a (now-deleted) op-ed about replacing libraries with Amazon blew up the internet from CNN
Forbes deleted a deeply misinformed op-ed arguing Amazon should replace libraries from QUARTZ
Forbes deleted its controversial article about Amazon replacing libraries from FastCompany
The Reddit thread
Replacing libraries with Amazon? from Tyson Adams
Articles by Librarians should replace opinion pieces by the uninformed from BookRiot

That last article title speaks to exactly the point I am trying to get at with this topic. There are still clearly a lot of misguided and un/misinformed people out there when it comes to information about libraries so let's talk strategies on how to tackle that problem.

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT WE'VE CHANGED THE TIME TO 8:30PM ET!

QUESTIONS

We post the questions here in advance of the chat so you can decide whether or not this topic is of interest to you and/or prepare your answers in advance.

Q1 What do you think are the best ways we can/tools we have to explain the value of libraries to those who just don't get it (i.e. politicians)?

Q2 Have you ever reached out to a politician at any level about the importance/value of libraries? Why or why not? How did it go if you did?

Q3 Have you ever started a grassroots movement to bring library issues to the forefront during an election? If so share your tips - if not, would you ever do it?

Q4 Given that it's a mid-term election year in the US, and a municipal election year in my home province of Ontario, are you informed about the ways the candidates in your area feel about libraries?

PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING IN ON TWITTER AT 8:30 PM ET NEXT MONDAY, AUGUST 6 USING THE #LISPROCHAT HASHTAG.