Legislative Advocacy and Public Policy Work for Academic and Research Library Workers
Perspectives and Strategies

Raymond Pun (Edited by), Sonya M Durney (Edited by), Tarida Anantachai (Edited by)

9798892556279

Paperback / softback, published 25 June 2025

296 pages
25.4 x 17.8 x 1.8 cm, 0.454 kg

Library advocacy is a deliberate, planned, and sustained effort to develop understanding and support for libraries and the communities they serve. Advocacy is not optional—it is a vital responsibility to protect the integrity and impact of libraries in society.

Legislative Advocacy and Public Policy Work for Academic and Research Library Workers is a comprehensive resource addressing our specific roles in influencing the various legislative and public policies that directly impact academic libraries, our academic communities, and the library community at large. It explores the ways academic and research library workers are engaging in advocacy, from testifying at governmental levels to collaborating with diverse constituents and legislators to bringing our academic advocacy efforts to discussions within state and regional library associations.

As educators and researchers, library workers bring invaluable expertise to the legislative table. We can help ensure that decisions affecting academic and research libraries and their communities are informed, equitable, and aligned with the values of intellectual freedom and lifelong learning. Legislative Advocacy and Public Policy Work for Academic and Research Library Workers offers ways to make meaningful legislative and policy impacts.

Introduction
Raymond Pun, Sonya M. Durney, and Tarida Anantachai

Section I. Overviews of Public Policy Issues Impacting Academic and Research Libraries
Chapter 1. We’
re in the Future Now: Advocating for Transformative Change in the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP)
Valerie D. Glenn and Shari Laster

Chapter 2. Solving the Ebook Conundrum: Libraries, Legislation, and Advocacy in the States
Kyle K. Courtney and Juliya Ziskina

Chapter 3. Contract Override: The Hidden Copyright Issue in Electronic Licensing
Sara Benson, Carla Myers, James G. Neal, Timothy Vollmer

Chapter 4. No Clear Vision: Problems and Opportunities with the Law Regarding Equitable Access for the Blind, Visually Impaired, and Print-Disabled (BVIPD) Students
Eric P. Robinson, Dick Kawooya, Clayton A. Copeland, and Brandy Fox

Chapter 5. Digital Equity in Higher Education
Kara Malenfant, Laurie Blandino, and Anne Craig

Chapter 6. Harnessing OER Policy to Benefit All Learners
Regina H. Gong and Nicole Allen

Chapter 7. Digital Privacy and Policy Work in Higher Education: An Interview with Frans Albarillo

Section II. Perspectives and Strategies from Academic and Research Library Workers
Chapter 8. Uniting Policy, Advocacy, and Education: Reframing the Open Access Policy as a Statement of Values in a Time of Funder Mandates
Miriam Rigby and Franny Gaede

Chapter 9. Beyond the Legislature’
s Website: Strategies and Tools for State Legislative Research that Informs Advocacy Work
Jennifer Horne

Chapter 10. Bridging Gaps: Librarians Fostering Intellectual Freedom Across State Lines
Harley Rogers and Lindsay Decker

Chapter 11. From Advocacy to Advocacy: 25 Years of GovInfo Day, the Annual Gathering of Librarians Interested in Government and Legal Information
Carla Graebner

Chapter 12. Partnering with Humanities Advocates to Benefit Archives
Bryan Whitledge

Chapter 13. Advocacy and Influence: What We Know After Fifty Years of Training and Research: An Interview with Dr. Ken Haycock

Chapter 14. Getting Heard
Irene M. H. Herold

Chapter 15. Librarian Lobbyist? Front Lines of Virginia OER Legislative Advocacy
Anita R. Walz

Chapter 16. Narrow Coverage of Broadband: Librarians and Public Telecom Consultations
Kris Joseph and Michael B. McNally

Chapter 17. Cultivating Resistance: Academic Librarian Strategies to Mobilize the Black Community Against Book Bans
Tiffeni Fontno

Chapter 18. What Civil Rights Pioneers Taught Me About Advocacy: An Interview with Arnetta Girardeau

Chapter 19. Conducting Research in Support of Advocacy: What We Have Learned From Analyzing the Canadian Copyright Act Review
Jennifer Zerkee and Stephanie Savage

Chapter 20. Minding the State Advocacy Gap: Organizing Academic Librarian-Focused State Advocacy Days
Diana J. Castillo

Chapter 21. Advocacy for Intellectual Freedom in a State Library Association: Recent Experiences from Virginia
Keith Weimer and Shari Henry

Chapter 22. Federal Requests for Information: Responding to Advocate and Develop Campus Networks
Abigail Goben and Andrew Boyd

About the Authors