—not just alphabetically, but procedurally:
Activate (v): initiate something; start a function.
Synonyms: arouse, energize, impel, mobilize, motivate, prompt, propel, set in motion, start, stimulate, switch on, trigger.
Advocate (v): support idea or cause publicly.
Synonyms: advise, argue for, bolster, boost, campaign for, champion, defend, go to bat for, justify, promote, recommend, support.
—http://thesaurus.reference.com/
Activists start the process to make something happen.
Advocates support the process and product of that initial action.
BIIIG difference.
Every semester, it’s the unit on Public Relations that is a revelation to most of the students in my School Library Management course. Posters and displays and reading contests: no problem. But administrative reports and collaborative connections and community outreach efforts … you mean we have to do that, too? Yes.
Here are some unfortunate realities:
- Too many adults (both in and out of schools) still think of the library as a quiet place where the nice lady just reads stories and checks out books to kids.
- Too many politicians think that ‘you can find everything you need on the InterWebs,’ even though those same politicians prefer shelves of books as the background for their photo-ops when making education-related pronouncements.
- Too many school librarians seem to subscribe to a “field of dreams” mythology: if you build a library, “they” will somehow know about it, and come and use it and value it.
- Too many school districts are cutting school library programs because too many school administrators and taxpayers don’t recognize the educational value TO STUDENTS of those library programs.
and
- Too many school librarians talk about the urgent need for advocacy efforts to support the idea of school libraries, but somehow expect those efforts to come from somewhere/someone else on their behalf.
School librarians can NOT assume that the rest of the world understands how and why library programs are necessary, especially in our changing information landscape.
We need to be ACTive about REACHING OUT to all members of our communities: teachers, administrators, parents, legislators, media, etc., to get our stories out. We can’t expect – or wait for – our professional associations to do it for us. And our stories have to be positive: no whining or begging.
Ask yourself: what can YOU do to SHOW and TELL what’s happening in your local program? What evidence can you use to demonstrate the impact of effective library programs and services on student learning?
And ask yourself this, too: are YOU paying attention to the changes happening around you? Because the world has changed, and our students’ needs have changed, and if you don’t learn how to steer effectively through the hills and valleys of program justification, you may just end up as road-kill.
April 13, 2010 ;)
