Overview: Recent scholarly work has advocated for the library to become a center for civic engagement, but has focused on providing unbiased information to the public rather than advocating for specific political viewpoints. This presentation argues that libraries must instead shift towards grassroots lobbying in order to effectively combat threatening legislation.
Abstract: Recent scholarly work has advocated for the library to become a center for civic engagement, focusing on providing unbiased information to the library public rather than advocating for specific political viewpoints. Very little scholarship, however, has explored the role of lobbying in relation to this concentration on political activism. This paper traces the historical foundations of political involvement, defines some of the national legislation on non-profit lobbying, explores current lobbying practices in the library, and finally makes the argument that public libraries must shift towards active political involvement by way of grassroots lobbying in order to effectively combat threatening legislation.