Lobbying for Libraries and the Public's Access to Government Information : An Insider's View

Structured like a memoir, with tips about lobbying interwoven throughout, Lobbying for Libraries is a lively account of one woman's 21-year mission to get funding for libraries to establish systems that improve the way information is distributed nationwide. She offers valuable guidelines on how to lobby as an individual or group, design a bill, communicate with policy makers through traditional and new technologies, and how to influence the legislative process. Hoduski has quilted the fabric of her experiences in policy making into an insightful book that is as entertaining as it is useful.

Bernadine E. Abbott Hoduski, founder of the American Library Association's Government Documents Round Table (GODORT), could very well be considered the "mother" of all government documents librarians. Still an active member in the government and library community, her name resonates throughout information circles. Structured like a memoir, with tips about lobbying interwoven throughout, Lobbying for Libraries is a lively account of one woman's 21-year mission to get funding for libraries to establish systems that improve the way information is distributed nationwide. She offers valuable guidelines on how to lobby as an individual or group, design a bill, communicate with policymakers through traditional and new technologies, and how to influence the legislative process. Hoduski has quilted the fabric of her experiences in policy making into an insightful book that is as entertaining as it is useful. Truly a worthwhile read for government document librarians, lobbyists, and policy makers.

Though it concerns the author's 20-year experience lobbying Congress to attain access to government information for libraries, this book will be of interest to a broad readership for the inside view it presents of government procedure and the practice of lobbying. Abbott-Hoduski, now a government information adviser, was with the Library and Distribution Services of the US Congress Joint Committee on Printing until 1993. Her memoir describes in detail the story of bills for information access in government documents and the policymakers involved in the long history of the bills during her tenure. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Lobbying for a cause is like creating a quilt The cause/quilt must be decided upon and designed How to lobby Who are the quilters/lobbyists? Who should be lobbied? A change in the life of a public official can unravel years of lobbying.