Keeping Public Libraries on the Agenda‪.‬

To enhance the effectiveness of public libraries in pursuing their mission, library executives and library champions must ensure that they keep libraries on the agenda of their communities and funding bodies. This calls for a multi-faceted approach involving professional education and training, the right mix of services, well-structured advocacy, cultivating partnerships with government and private sector bodies, and innovative and forward-looking programs. The right image and appropriate environments for users--the right 'platforms'--are also critical to delivering outcomes of substance, value and relevance. TODAY ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT ARE FACED WITH COMPETING DEMANDS FOR THEIR attention and financial support. Although there is growing recognition of the significance of public libraries--as social capital, as arms of electronic government (eGovernment) and as players in the knowledge economy--library managers will need to take every opportunity they can to further the cause of their institutions. They need to ensure that public libraries are firmly on the agenda of their local authorities, and, through state and national associations, on the agenda of state and federal governments also.