ALA Annual 2010 Washington D. C.

Took a red-eye to D. C. and arrived at 5 AM this morning. Got a few hours sleep on the plane and a few more at the Westin in their "heavenly bed" which really is heavenly after trying to sleep in an airplane seat. Took the conference bus to the convention center (thanks to GALE for the busses) and attended another Advocacy training to prepare for Tuesday. Rehearsed much of what was discussed in the webinar. Stephanie Vance who was a former Congressional staffer had some funny impressions of Congressmen, and assured us not to be insulted when we are given appointments with the 12 year old staffer and end up meeting in the halls because the offices are so small. She recommends 4 steps: Introduce yourself as a constituent. Connect to an issuue that they feel strongly about (do your research online regarding the committes they are on and the bills they sponsor). Ask for their support on your specific issues, follow up with a thank you e-mail. Keep following up and build a relationship, for example, ask them to an event at your library. We are asking for funding LTSA at 300 million, Improving Literacy through school libraries at 100 million, and to reauthorize ESEA to include a library and librarian at every school.