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CLA Day in the District

CLA’s 2023 “Day in the District” Information Page

What is Day in the District and why is it important? “Day in the District” is your opportunity to meet your legislators and/or their legislative staff in their local offices before the state budget is approved and before legislation is finalized. Meeting them locally is a very effective way to create relationships with new legislators and bolstering your relationship with continuing legislators—and their staff—is vital to the success of CLA’s advocacy platform.

You and other library staff from all levels of the organization—as well as Friends groups, foundation members, trustees, commissioners, literacy advocates and other supporters—should try to schedule appointments with your legislators during late February through April. It is helpful if libraries across California make appointments during this time of year; however, any day you schedule to meet with your legislators to share impact stories and the value of your library is worthwhile. If you are just getting started now—that is okay! This just may mean your appointment will be a little later, which is still great.

The meetings you will be setting up are friendly meet-and-greets; you and your colleagues can highlight some of the wonderful programs and services being offered by your library and also address specific legislative issues important to libraries across the state.

Legislators can serve in office for up to 12 years. Since many of them will sit on policy or budget-related committees that have jurisdiction over library issues and funding, it is critical to build relationships for years to come. The new legislative session began on January 4, 2023 and runs through September 14, 2023. While many legislators come from local government, they may be unaware of the vital, creative, and life-changing programs your library offers. “Day in the District” meet and greets are your opportunity to share these stories!

Day in the District Basics

●Organize a group of library supporters —it is more effective if you include library trustees, commissioners, Friends groups, Foundation members, different levels of library staff and library users to meet with your legislator in late February and early March (or beyond).

●If your legislator serves more than one public library system, reach out to those libraries and attempt to schedule one meeting for all libraries in the legislator’s district. You can view a map of legislative districts and California libraries here.

●Designate one person who will contact the legislator’s office and set up the meeting.

●When the date is finalized, determine who will provide the link for Zoom or another video conferencing platform. If you are to provide the link, do so within a day or two of finalizing the date and time of the meeting.

●Prior to meeting with your legislator, schedule a separate meeting (a run-through) with those participating to ensure you stay on message and have a plan.

●Use your meeting to highlight some of the transformational programs and services provided to your community.

  • ○During the meeting, keep the tone friendly and positive.

●If the legislator asks for specific information, please follow-up as soon as possible.

●Provide the legislator with a digital copy of legislation priorities talking points.

●Send a thank-you email the same day, if possible.

●Send a thank you note with a business card a week to 10 days after the meeting.

●Please send your notes about the meeting—interesting information about legislators, staff and their goals—to the CLA Advocacy & Legislative Committee Co-Chairs: Crystal Miles cmiles@saclibrary.org and Migell Acosta migell.acosta@sdcounty.ca.gov

FAQs

●How do I find the legislators that serve my area? While there are many ways, we have provided some tools to make it easier.

○California Libraries Legislative Map: Currently this map includes boundaries for congressional districts and Senate Districts, as well as library locations.

○CLA Legislator Spreadsheet: This spreadsheet lists legislators, their districts, contact information for scheduling, links to previous bills supported, committees, libraries served, and other facts. We will continue to update this spreadsheet.

○Lists of Legislators online:

●Is there any special way to contact the legislator to make an appointment? The CLA Legislator Spreadsheet will list the contact information for a scheduler, if possible. Otherwise, there will be a link to a scheduling form on their website. You can find a generic template to request an appointment here.

●Should we prioritize specific legislators? While it is important to meet with all legislators, Assembly and Senate leaders and those involved with appropriations are critical. CLA has compiled a list of budget subcommittees and key legislators here.

●Who should participate in the meeting? The goal of the meeting is to show the impact your library has on the community, and in the end how the legislator’s support of libraries makes that happen. It is important to have people involved that can communicate this impact. This can be done with a slideshow, stories, finding a common connection, and more. For example, a librarian who can paint a picture of the direct impact of bilingual storytime on their community; a patron who has finally found a job by attending classes at the library and the impact on their life; a library Friend or Foundation member who can share stories of the wonderful things their library is doing on a regular basis. These meetings aren’t just for library administrators. It is important to include multiple people with various experiences, if possible.

●Can we add people to our meeting after we set the appointment? It is very important that your legislator’s office knows who will be attending the meeting. If you add people to your group, make sure to communicate with the scheduler and confirm the office is aware of the addition. Do not surprise them with unexpected visitors.

●Is there anything off limits? In general, this is a time to make your libraries shine and focus on the positive. While it is appropriate to communicate wishes, this is not the time to challenge your legislator or their decisions. “Policy, not politics” is also a good rule in these meetings. Also, though casual, conversational tones are fine in this setting, remember to use the time efficiently to hit the specific “wows” of your libraries and avoid questions like, “do you have a library card?”

●I work at a special library. How can I find out if a library in my area has already set up an appointment?Using the tools linked above, look for other libraries in your legislative districts. Email their library administrator and let them know you are interested in working together. Some library systems/libraries may have a specific process in place for Day in the District and do it on their own. If that is the case, you can request a separate appointment with your legislators.

IMPORTANT!!! Once your appointments are set up, please have the library contacts complete this survey. CLA will then list the appointment date, time and the library contact coordinating the appointment here. This will help us work together to connect libraries.    

Helpful Links:

California Libraries Legislative Map

CLA Legislator Spreadsheet

List of Budget Subcommittees and Key Legislators

Survey to submit your scheduled meeting time

List of appointments made and who to contact

Learn about CLA’s 2023-2024 Legislative Priorities

CLAs Legislative Talking Points for Day in the District 2023