{"id":39635,"date":"2014-04-20T12:41:52","date_gmt":"2014-04-20T17:41:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=39635"},"modified":"2019-01-01T19:27:25","modified_gmt":"2019-01-02T01:27:25","slug":"john-chrastka-executive-director-of-everylibrary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=39635","title":{"rendered":"John Chrastka, Executive Director of EveryLibrary"},"content":{"rendered":"

This interview is over 1 year old and may no longer be up to date or reflect the interviewee\/interviewees’ positions<\/span><\/h2>\n

.<\/span>Naomi House, MLIS<\/a>\u2019s interview with the founder of EveryLibrary<\/a>, John Chrastka.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"johnc\"<\/a>EveryLibrary is the first and only national organization dedicated exclusively to political action at a local level to create, renew, and protect public funding for libraries of all types. We will provide tactical and operational support to local voter awareness campaigns, seed and sustaining monies to local ballot committees and PACs, as well as conducting direct voter advocacy in support of library taxing, bonding, and referendum.\u00a0 (http:\/\/everylibrary.org\/about-everylibrary\/<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

previously published 9\/10\/13<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Naomi:<\/b>\u00a0 How did you come to work for (or start) EveryLibrary<\/a>?
\nJohn:<\/b>\u00a0 I started EveryLibrary for two reasons, both having to do with public money:\u00a0\u00a0 #1. There is a massive amount of funding for libraries appropriated on local ballots.\u00a0 Last November (2012) we counted up at least $268 million on zipcode level elections.\u00a0 The entire federal appropriation for libraries doesn\u2019t top $150 million annually.\u00a0 And #2. It doesn\u2019t take much money to run good campaigns.\u00a0 We\u2019ve seen what $3,000 to $4,000 can do to communicate effectively with voters about libraries in campaigns like Spokane (a $1.6 mil win) and Santa Clara County Library District (a $6.2 mil win).\u00a0 If we look at the research that underpins EveryLibrary\u2019s genesis, it is clear that the biggest drivers for voter behavior are their perceptions of the librarian and their respect for the institution.\u00a0 If we can help librarians understand they are the candidate and help campaigns show-off how the library is a continuing transformative force in their communities, we\u2019ll help more libraries win the funding they need.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Naomi:<\/b>\u00a0 How can librarians help EveryLibrary?
\nJohn:<\/b>\u00a0 We need help getting the word out that we exist and that we are effective allies for libraries when planning a ballot measure and for citizen committees planning Vote Yes campaigns.\u00a0 We are non-partisan and pro-library. We believe firmly that it is OK to be politically active to secure our funding.\u00a0 Librarians can also help us with donations.\u00a0 For every $1 we have spent supporting a campaign we have helped secure $1,150 in public funding on Election Days.\u00a0 This means that a $25 donation goes very, very far in winning on Election Day for libraries. (rally.org\/everylibrary<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"everylibrary<\/a><\/p>\n

Naomi:<\/b>\u00a0 Can you speak a little about your experiences with libraries?\u00a0 Any favorite libraries or experiences with them?
\nJohn:<\/b>\u00a0 I\u2019ve been a trustee at the Berwyn (IL) Public Library for several years.\u00a0 My role as board president is to run good meetings, back-up the director during change, and make sure our committees and staff have what they need to succeed. It isn\u2019t day-to-day management or user interaction, though.\u00a0 But I get to point with pride at how we handled a recent materials challenge (fair hearing, kept the item), how we took a bequest and turned it into fundraising leverage (matching grants and doubling-up on outcomes), and how we budget and plan for success (did the first full strategic plan with all-staff input).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Naomi:<\/b>\u00a0 Favorite book?
\nJohn:<\/b>\u00a0 Most everything by Wallace Stegner, still. I read a lot of New Yorker-length essays on civil society stuff.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Naomi:<\/b>\u00a0 Favorite thing about libraries\/ library technology?
\nJohn:<\/b>\u00a0 I guess I am an old-school progressive because I like to see the library well used and supported by tax dollars for the common good.\u00a0 I like both the idea and practice of neutral-engagement that a user experience embodies.\u00a0 And I am a fan of the fact that librarians are early adopters who train late-cycle adopters every day.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Naomi:<\/b>\u00a0 Are there any blogs or websites we should be following?
\nJohn:<\/b>\u00a0 I look to Think Tank for solid interaction about libraries\u00a0 – and the profession – along with a healthy dose of \u201cWTF are they thinking?\u201d going on in public.\u00a0 I\u2019m also reading http:\/\/themonkeycage.org\/<\/a> for the equivalent level of discourse in the Poli Sci world.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Find him at<\/em><\/p>\n

@mrchrastka<\/a><\/p>\n

facebook.com\/chrastka<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This interview is over 1 year old and may no longer be up to date or reflect the interviewee\/interviewees’ positions .Naomi House, MLIS\u2019s interview with the founder of EveryLibrary, John Chrastka. EveryLibrary is the first and only national organization dedicated exclusively to political action at a local level to create, renew, and protect public funding…<\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[376,11],"tags":[231,1329,5,5151,216,5153,3915,5152,5294],"class_list":["post-39635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-great-organizations","category-in-six","tag-ala","tag-ala-think-tank","tag-bio","tag-everylibrary","tag-interviews","tag-john-chrastka","tag-libraries","tag-pac","tag-political-action-committee"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/john-of-everylibrary1.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-ajh","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39635"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39635\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/39672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}