Governance / Committee Directory / Advocacy Task Force

Advocacy Task Force

Name Term Institution
Laurie Blandino2025-2026CARLI
Stefanie Bluemle2025-2026Augustana College
Margaret Chambers2025-2026CARLI
Marlee Graser2025-2026Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Michelle Haake2025-2026CARLI
Dennis Krieb2025-2026Lewis and Clark Community College
Megan Pearson2025-2026CARLI
Devin Savage2025-2026Illinois Institute of Technology
Nicole Swanson2025-2026CARLI

Body to which the group reports: Governance Board

Review the “Advocacy” section of the CARLI Strategic Plan with the goal of making progress on the goals (see goals a and b below):

  1. Establish and communicate the value proposition for academic and research libraries in Illinois
    • Document the value that CARLI creates; articulate to policymakers and legislators how CARLI provides value to the State of Illinois and why it is a good investment of taxpayer dollars
      • Measure return on investment of services/programs to ensure that financial resources and staff efforts are focused on identified priorities
      • Identify CARLI success stories; furnish information to stakeholders and policymakers
      • Work with accreditation bodies to include library standards and metrics as part of the institutional review process
  2. Provide opportunities for sharing information among the membership about funding successes and challenges
    • Organize and facilitate innovative member conversations, including conversations about DEIA

Activities for the Task Force to consider

  1. Develop a surveying/feedback strategy for help in capturing user stories to use with audience specific message by CARLI and in templates for libraries.
  2. Identify specific audiences and useful stories/data points.
  3. Develop infrastructure for centralized, statewide data collection (IPEDS/ACRL stats).
  4. Review sites such as the Orbis Cascade Alliance site, Alliance Advocacy Framework Orbis Cascade Alliance, for possible inclusion/adaptation for CARLI.
  5. Consider the statements from the June 2025 board meeting. How might these inform the work of the task force?
    • The library promotes scholarly belonging. It’s a place of exploration and learning.
    • Libraries help contribute to students’ sense of belonging.
    • The library is a non-judgmental, academic space where students can ask questions freely. We talked about empathy and understanding that library staff exhibit.
    • Library staff members contribute significantly to retention and graduation. We know that libraries help students get better grades.
    • We help students become content and idea creators.
    • Citizens today need critical thinking skills. Libraries can help with that.
    • Imagine a world WITHOUT libraries – what would that look like and what would be missing?

Timeline: A full report due to the CARLI Board at their June 2026 meeting.