Friday, February 22, 2008

Miss Jill goes to Albany

I will be out of the office for most of next week, including a two-day trip to Albany, NY and then two different workshops (including Promotion & Use of Digital Projects). So if I blog very little, you'll know why.

On Tuesday, members of the Regents Advisory Council on Libraries will visit NY state legislators in order to advocate for increased library funding. This is the first time that I'll be doing this, so everything about it is new to me -- where to park, what to say, what homework I need to do before going, etc. We've been told that we will meet with the legislators or members of their staff, depending on the legislators' schedules. I've heard that sometimes the time you get to spend with them is brief, so you have to be prepared to make you pitch quickly. (The two legislators from my area are Assemblywoman Joan Christensen and Senator John DeFrancisco.)

In two weeks, many librarians in NYS will descend on Albany by car and bus in order to advocate for increased spending, so our visit next week is a prelude (or warm up) to the larger event. I hope that all of us have a positive impact.

BTW I grew up about a mile from the State Capitol in Harrisburg, PA. Getting to the Capitol building was a easy walk -- no negotiating parking garages! Being close to the State Capitol also meant that I used the State Library regularly to research school projects. In fact, I never went to the Harrisburg Public Library because of my close proximity to the State Library. So, I'm looking forward to seeing the State Library in Albany. I hope it is as awe inspiring.


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