Andy Woodworth is a 32 year old librarian in New Jersey. You can read his blog at: http://agnosticmaybe.wordpress.com or email him with questions at: wawoodworth[the 'at' symbol]gmail.com.
On Monday August 31st, I would like to propose a blogathon to raise funds on behalf of the Louisville Free Public Library. Earlier this month, the main library fell victim to a flood which put over four feet of water in their basement. As you can imagine, a lot of stuff got ruined. Steve Lawson, a member of Library Society of the World, was moved enough by their plight to set up a PayPal donation account so as to collect fund and write a check to the Library on September 1st. (Update to his post here.) I thought that, through a combined effort on the part of the library blogging community, we might push the fund raising campaign up a notch. And thus was born the idea of a blogathon.
What is a blogathon?
For this event, I am borrowing liberally from Bobbi Newman’s “Day in the Life of a Librarian“. Rather than ask people to write on a common account over a specified time period (typically 24 hours), I’m asking people to write an entry on a common theme and post it on their blog MONDAY AUGUST 31ST. (In looking around at the web, this would be a non-traditional blogathon.) These events are done to raise awareness, to engage in fundraising, and to bring the blogging community together around a single cause.
So, what do I do now?
A few things before the big day on MONDAY AUGUST 31ST:
(1) You can make a monetary donation directly to the Louisville Free Public Library Foundation. There is no such thing as a donation that is too small! Everything counts! In the alternative, if you are in the Louisville area, donations of time or materials work in lieu of money to help out the library.
(2) Register your name & blog at the wiki:
http://lfplblogathon.pbworks.com/
(3) Advertise your participation and pass the word to other librarian bloggers of this event through your blog. Here are some graphics to help.
“Flood them with money!” as inspired by Steve Lawson.
Change your Twitter, Myspace, and/or Facebook icon. (Link to the picture in Flickr)
Share this wiki on Myspace and Facebook. Tweet about it on Twitter (hashtag: #lfplblogathon). Throw the icon in your sidebar with a link. Let it be a presence on your blog for the now.
(4) Between now and MONDAY AUGUST 31ST, please write a post for your blog on this carefully chosen theme:
“Why Libraries Kick Ass”
(Or the PG version: “Why Libraries Rock”. Or the very G version: “Why Libraries are Awesome”.)
I would request that the theme (whichever variation of it you have chosen) be the title of your post. Aside from that, interpret the theme as you will. Since this is about raising money on the behalf of a library, it bears saying why libraries are so important to our society as a whole. So, give it your all! Because the next library that you are soliciting support for might be your own.
Also, be sure to include links to the Louisville Free Public Library Foundation (http://www.lfplfoundation.org/) in your post so your readers can donate!
(5) On Monday August 31st, place your carefully crafted post on your blog! Tweet it, share it on social media, and email it to your friends/colleagues!
That’s it!
The Louisville Free Public Library gets a donation, you get a fun post to write (to train yourself for future advocacy), and the library blogger community unites for a good cause! It’s a win-win-win situation!
Can’t wait to read them all on the 31st!
Do you have a concept you would like to be featured on the Young Librarian Series? Send an email with your idea to: younglibrarianseries@gmail.com or visit the SUBMISSIONS page for more details! Thanks for reading and we’ll see you next week!