{"id":19497,"date":"2018-10-22T00:01:09","date_gmt":"2018-10-22T04:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/?p=19497"},"modified":"2018-10-26T11:30:48","modified_gmt":"2018-10-26T15:30:48","slug":"childrens-librarians-are-experts-with-the-data-to-back-it-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/2018\/10\/childrens-librarians-are-experts-with-the-data-to-back-it-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Children\u2019s Librarians are Experts with the Data to Back It Up!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you ever try to explain your job to a friend, family member, or member of your community that isn\u2019t a \u201clibrary person\u201d? Sure, you can simply say you work with children in libraries, but what if they ask more? If you\u2019re like me, you start in on a long winded spiel about early literacy, collection development, and programming and begin to notice their eyes glaze over.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I, like most of you, am incredibly passionate about my job. I could talk about the importance of libraries all day. Unfortunately, I\u2019m not the best at what you would call an \u201celevator pitch.\u201d An elevator pitch is a short, succinct, persuasive way to sell an idea, company, or product. An elevator pitch should be as quick as a ride in an elevator. If you\u2019re like me, you\u2019re in luck! The Public Awareness Committee is working on updating and adding to \u201cbecause statements\u201d to use in these exact situations!<\/p>\n

So what is a \u201cbecause statement?\u201d A \u201cbecause statement\u201d is a simple way to outline the essential reasons for taking or defending a position. They are especially handy when advocating to local officials and stakeholders.<\/p>\n

Still confused? Here\u2019s an example: \u201cBecause students who read during the summer, end up on the honor roll in the fall.\u201d As library professionals, we know the importance of summer learning. Using a \u201cbecause statement\u201d makes it easier to sell that importance. Even better, we can back that statement up with research and data<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Another example, \u201cBecause adding Minecraft to curriculum may inspire more future engineers than mathematics alone\u201d supports STEM programming in libraries. Research<\/a> shows game-based learning appeals to many different learning styles and encourages creative problem solving.<\/p>\n

So, the next time you find yourself with \u201csummer slide\u201d on the tip of your tongue, look for the \u201cbecause statement\u201d that supports it!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Tip<\/p>\n

PAC Advocacy Information Sheet<\/a><\/p>\n

This post addresses the following ALSC Core Competencies: V. Outreach and Advocacy and VII. Professionalism and Professional Development.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Cassie Chenoweth, Children\u2019s Librarian at Orange Beach Public Library in Orange Beach, Alabama, is writing this post on behalf of the Public Awareness Committee. She can reached at cchenoweth@orangebeachal.gov<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do you ever try to explain your job to a friend, family member, or member of your community that isn\u2019t a \u201clibrary person\u201d? Sure, you can simply say you work with children in libraries, but what if they ask more? If you\u2019re like me, you start in on a long winded spiel about early literacy, collection development, and programming and begin to notice their eyes glaze over.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":188,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[418,1639,1604,1611,1613],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogger-public-awareness-committee","category-childrens-librarians-are-experts","category-competencies-for-librarians-serving-children-in-public-libraries","category-outreach-and-advocacy","category-professionalism-and-professional-development"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/188"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19497\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}