What is a Breakthrough?

All types of people—library users and also those who may not use but deeply believe in libraries—are needed for effective advocacy.

The stories in this section are not traditional "success stories," but rather moments of progress in advocacy campaigns across the nation.

All stories illustrate one or more of the top ten advocacy strategies. Longer breakthroughs describe challenging moments in ongoing campaigns, and how advocates moved forward. The briefs below point to small but important breakthroughs.

For fuller campaign profiles, be sure to see Campaigns.

Send your stories to stories@actforlibraries.org.

Breakthrough Stories

In this section, we offer two breakthrough stories to give library advocates ideas and inspiration.

Go to St Paul Breakthrough Story >

Go to Hattiesburgh Breakthrough Story >

See the next section for brief, inspiring breakthrough moments from across the country.

Advocacy must be sustained throughout the year, not only brought into play for budget hearings or crises.

Library officials and advocates in Dunlap Illinois were elated to learn in late November, several weeks after the 2006 election, that a $2.5 M bond referendum had passed. They had been on a roller coaster when the ballot was first announced as passed, then failed, and then, following the final count of absentee votes, the measure was actually passed.

The final count showed that there were 1,185 votes for the library bond measure and 1,176 votes against it. The Dunlap Public Library District now has the authority to issue bonds for construction of a new library. Construction could begin in July 2007, with the library slated for completion by May 2008.

Passage of the bond measure means that the current 7,000 square foot library will be replaced by a 12,300 square foot building. The Library’s website lists the “Benefits to the Community”:

• Meeting rooms for community use
• New area for preschool activities
• Additional shelving and display space
• An increase in the number of public access computers
• Large adult reading areas
• Additional parking
• Study rooms that can double as storm shelters

This brief illustrates Advocacy Strategy 1: Community Engagement and Advocacy Strategy 7: Political Lobbying.

Read More About It: Journal Star News, "Library measure actually passed!"

Burlington, Vermont: Community Foundation Funds Lecture Series on Diversity

The Vermont Community Foundation has provided underwriting for a Discovering Common Ground: Cultural Perspectives Lecture Series at the Fletcher Free Library in Burlington, Vermont. This series provides an opportunity for newcomers, especially immigrants and refugees, and long-time residents of the Burlington area to explore the diversity of cultural traditions and outlooks in their increasingly diverse community. Three series features lectures by Maria Schumann from the Vermont Folklife Center and the Association of Africans Living in Vermont, and Judy Scott from the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program.  

Program underwriting by the Vermont Community Foundation underscores the importance of partnerships between libraries and local foundations. The series also underscores the value of special programming for attracting newcomers to the library and providing a common ground for new and older residents to discuss issues of common concern. Special programs attract new audiences, familiarize them with the library, and provide the groundwork for future support.

This brief illustrates Advocacy Strategy 6: Partnerships and Collaborations.

Allagash, Maine: Celebrity Author Gives the Gift of Heat

The rural community of Allagash Maine is served by a two-room library that is only eight years old. The library is housed in a former school and serves a town of fewer than 275 people. It is open three afternoons a week. In the winter of 2005, the library's continuation was threatened by a faulty furnace and high fuel costs. The Bangor Daily News and other local papers reported on the library crisis in Allagash, and soon the library heard from Stephen and Tabitha King. The Kings live in Maine and are known for their generous support of other Maine libraries, including the library in Bangor.

Through the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation, the library received a grant of $25,000, of which $20,000 was to replace the furnace and the remainder to be spent on fuel. This gift helped sustain library services, which continue to be in demand by the local community.

This brief illustrates Avocacy Strategy 8: Private-Sector Fundraising.

Addison Public Library in Addison, Illinois is one of a number of libraries that are attracting new support through a forward-looking planning and design process. Addison has been awarded a $20,150 grant from DuPage County Stormwater Management "for the design and implementation of a green roof system in the new library building, which will open in the summer of 2008....

The green roof will cover 5,300 square feet with a grid-type extensive system such as GreenGrid™. As a public place of learning and knowledge, the new library will allow its patrons to view the green roof for educational purposes and is proposing to set up a small exhibit near a viewing point for library patrons to learn about the benefits of the “green roof system.”

Through a library planning process that engaged residents and town officials in thinking about how the library could exemplify forward-looking design principles, the library was able to attract new support for its building project. They were also effective in communicating the importance of the project and its environmentally conscious elements through their website and campaign materials.

This brief illustrates Advocacy Strategy 3: Library Planning and Advocacy Strategy 1: Community Engagement.