Strengthening Library Ecosystems

A patron of one library is the potential patron of any other library at a different time of life or location. And though each library serves its own unique community, when different kinds of libraries speak together with one voice, the entire library ecosystem is stronger. Distilling the work of ALA's Ecosystem Task Force, this book will guide library organizations in assessing and extending the strength of their ecosystems by identifying priorities for advocacy and legislation. Its flexible framework can apply to the library ecosystem at any level and can accommodate all types of libraries and library organizations, including Friends groups and trustees, vendors, and literacy groups. In this book, readers will

• learn what constitutes a library ecosystem and how diverse libraries can unite around common goals and values;
• see the ways in which various library types (school, public, and academic) overlap in mission, share the same core values, and can better view each another as essential allies;
• be introduced to the elements of ecosystem thinking, including components such as effective leadership, communication, collaboration, and sustainability for advocacy success;
• come to understand how to apply ecosystem ideas to bolster legislative advocacy and combat censorship attempts;
• grasp the contrasts between “going it alone,” which can devolve into fragmented messaging and unfocused action at cross-purposes with other libraries, and speaking together with One Voice, as illustrated through real-world examples and case studies; and
• get an assortment of practical tip sheets, discussion questions, points to consider, and other helpful prompts and guideposts for setting out on their own ecosystem journey.

Dorcas Hand, MLS, is a retired school librarian from Houston, Texas, who is a co-chair of Students Need Libraries in Houston ISD, a grassroots advocacy effort to return school librarians and libraries to all campuses in Houston Independent School District; this local advocacy work has informed much of her ecosystem thinking. She chaired the ALA Ecosystem Initiative Task Force to write the Ecosystem Toolkit and Continuum and remains a member of ALA’s COLA Ecosystem Subcommittee, presenting on ecosystem topics often.

Sara Kelly Johns, MLS, a member of ALA’s COLA Ecosystem Subcommittee, is an online instructor for Syracuse University’s iSchool graduate program. Sara was a longtime school librarian in northern New York’s Adirondack Mountains. She was a public library trustee in two libraries and taught an undergraduate library instruction course at the Feinberg Library at the State University of New York, Plattsburgh. A past president of the American Association of School Librarians and the New York Library Association, she is active in ALA Council. With Susan D. Ballard, she coauthored Elevating the School Library: Building Positive Perceptions through Brand Behavior (2023).

Michelle Robertson, MLIS, PhD, is currently the program coordinator and assistant professor for library media in education at the University of Central Oklahoma. She is a member of ALA’s Ecosystem Subcommittee as well as ALA’s Public Awareness Committee. She has worked for several years to build the library ecosystem in Oklahoma. Collaboration to build awareness of library services across library communities is her passion.

Eryn Duffee, MLIS, is a teacher librarian near Seattle, Washington, who has led advocacy committees and who founded the Tennessee Library Ecosystem Coalition. Eryn’s impactful work earned Tennessee the Gerald Hodges Intellectual Freedom Chapter Award. Recognized with the Library Journal Movers & Shakers Award in 2023, Eryn is currently on a mission to give Washington state students equitable access to certified teacher-librarians.