Section: Features

We write to pay tribute to the life and work of our friend and colleague John Donald Byrum, a leading figure in national and international cataloguing for many decades and a wise and valued mentor. His Washington Post obituary described him as a quiet and thoughtful man, and he was, but those of us who spent time with him in professional meetings and in private life knew him to be warm, witty, and convivial—the best of company and the best of friends.

I am very new to advocacy, but I look forward to getting started. One of the policy issues that I am most interested in is libraries’ key role in education and learning at all levels. Libraries support lifelong learning starting with school libraries on through public libraries offering coding classes, business development assistance, and access to health information. Another policy issue I’m interested in is privacy—helping the public to understand what information they are sharing and is being collected about them. I also wanted to be part of the conversations among involved parties about the data that is being collected, why it’s being collected, and how it’s being safeguarded. We must hold this conversation in a variety of arenas, including within libraries to discuss what data we and our vendors are collecting about patrons.

To advocate for these issues, first, get involved. You can use your voice to contribute to the conversation. Far too often people sit on the sidelines and don’t engage thinking their voices can’t do anything. That’s wrong. Second, advocate in your community—be that with publishers, suppliers, or patrons. Respectfully talk with them about your concerns, and explain the importance of the issue for you and for them. Finally, get and stay focused. Settle on one or two things that you care most about, and address those issues with passion.

Libraries are social institutions; when we advocate for library services, we advocate for people. I look forward to being an active part of the network Policy Corps creates while providing advocacy tools for other library workers. Living in northern Minnesota and working in a tiny library can be isolating, so I really value these connections. The Policy Corps also affords the opportunity to bring the tribal college library perspective to the national platform. I am humbled to have landed in this role.