Before the Ballot: Building Political Support for Library Funding

""On the Path to the Ballot" will focus on Informational Communications Campaigns (commonly referred to as info-only campaigns) for library staff and administrators. The book will discuss the library's role in the years leading up to a campaign and the library's role during ballot measure campaigns. Our companion title "How to Win Elections..." focused on building and running ballot measure committees and vote Yes campaigns during an election cycle. The material is referential but does not overlap in significant ways. The readership may overlap, but because the legal structure of libraries and the legal structure of ballot committees do not allow for the same type of campaign work, the strategies, and tactics are unique and distinct to these audiences"--

John Chrastka is EveryLibrary's founder and is a longtime library trustee, supporter, and advocate. He is a former partner in AssociaDirect, a Chicago-based consultancy focused on supporting associations in membership recruitment, conference, and governance activities. He is a former president and member of the Board of Trustees for the Berwyn (Illinois) Public Library (2006 2015) and is a former president of the Reaching Across Illinois Libraries System (RAILS) multi-type library system. Prior to his work at AssociaDirect, he was director for membership development at the American Library Association. He is a member of the ALA as well as the Illinois Library Association and the American Political Sciences Association. He was named a 2014 Mover & Shaker by Library Journal</em<p>Patrick  PC Sweeney is a tireless and innovative advocate for libraries and the current political director for EveryLibrary. A 2007 graduate of the San Jose School of Library and Information Sciences, he is a former administrative librarian of the Sunnyvale (California) Public Library and was executive director of EveryLibrary California, a statewide ballot committee to support library ballot propositions. He is active in the California Library Association and across library social media as a cofounder of the ALA Think Tank. His library blog is well respected, and he is a sought-after speaker and presenter. A recent project, the Story Sailboat, worked to provide library services and materials by boat in the San Francisco Bay area. He was named a 2015 Mover & Shaker by Library Journal.