Tools for Advocacy
North Carolina Public Library Data
The North Carolina Public Library Data website, developed and maintained by the State Library of North Carolina, is meant to be a resource for North Carolina public libraries, policy makers, and the general public.
The Public Library Data website is broken into three sections:
From Awareness to Funding
This OCLC study contains a wealth of information and insight about what motivates people to vote in favor of funding for libraries, and the results may surprise you (library use is not a significant motivating factor!).
North Carolina Library Advocacy
North Carolina Library Advocacy collects library patron success stories from around the state. The initial goal is to collect a story from each county; some counties already have more than one. The site is organized both by Congressional district and by county, for use with federal, state and local advocacy.
The intent of the site is to provide advocates with patron success stories that show how libraries transform peoples' lives for the better.
The stories are there for you and your advocates to use with your elected officials, but you also can add stories of your own from your library. There's a form for reporting general success stories, and another for economic impact stories.
This excellent resource was created by Dr. Anthony Chow and his UNCG SLIS students.