Once your committee is in place, you'll be ready to take action! The
AALL Government Relations Committee and Government Relations Office
have mechanisms in place to both keep you informed of what's happening
at the federal level as well as receive information from you as to what
is happening on the state level. In this section we describe the ways
in which your committee can become a strong and reliable voice in
support of law libraries.
Create partnerships with the AALL Government Relations Committee and Government Relations Office
Forging a strong relationship with the AALL Government Relations
Committee and Government Relations Office will help your chapter be
effective on both the federal and state levels. This partnership is
facilitated by Government Relations Committee "liaisons," who are
members of the Government Relations Committee that work with their
assigned chapters to form personal relationships and establish a
channel of communication between the Government Relations Office,
Government Relations Committee, and all of our chapters.
Liaisons will provide you with updates from the Government Relations Office, including the monthly Washington E-Bulletin which you can distribute on your chapter listserv. You'll find the list of current GRC chapter liaisons on the Government Relations Committee Web site .
We are always pleased to include chapter news in the E-Bulletin that
relates to legislation you are tracking and policy-related events your
chapter is hosting. Please let Emily Feldman or your chapter liaison know when something comes up.
Monitor Legislation
As a committee, you'll also be responsible for monitoring
legislation on the state level. By tracking legislation on your State
Legislature or General Assembly's Web site, you'll be able to keep your
chapter informed about the important issues surfacing in your state.
Your chapter's listerv is an important tool to help you with your
work. Keeping chapter members informed will help you create a
grassroots network that you can activate when issues start moving! When
state issues arise, please also inform your GRC liaison or the
Government Relations Office staff so that we're aware of the important
issues around the country. Most often, they're the same ones we're
working on at the federal level.
Influence Policy at the Federal and State Levels
Chapters have a critical role to play in influencing legislation at
the federal and state levels. The most important way to impact policy
is by forming trusting relationships with your representatives and
their staff.
Learn how your chapter can identify key members of Congress and take action at the
federal level. In addition, learn how to influence legislation at the state level by getting to know the politics and players and taking action when the time is right.