(via Gwen Gregory, University of Illinois at Chicago, on behalf of Dr. Kara Malenfant, ACRL)
Last year, then-ALA President Jim Neal announced the call for applicants to join the inaugural cohort of the ALA Policy Corps. A dozen advocates (including academic librarians from Northwestern University and Peninsula College) were selected from across the nation to build our capacity to advocate on key policy issues on behalf of the library community–from federal funding to network neutrality to copyright and fair use. We are now ready to grow our numbers and continue our work to strengthen policymaking.
You can learn more and apply from the Corps home page. “Expanding and deepening policy engagement at all levels of government is essential for advancing library priorities more quickly and successfully,” said ALA President Loida Garcia-Febo. “We are stronger together as we establish national policy library advocates across the country.”
Training and opportunities to participate in targeted policy advocacy work will be provided to participants. The application window is only open through November 16, so we want to make sure we get the word widely, particularly where we can build on existing division and ALA leadership programs and opportunities. We welcome you to apply and to help us get the word out to colleagues with a passion to advance state and national priorities for libraries and the communities we serve.
Thank you! If you have other questions, please reach out to Larra Clark at lclark@ala.org or Alan Inouye at ainouye@alawash.org.