An Exploratory Survey of State Library Association Lobbying and Political Advocacy Practices

The data contained in this study relates to lobbying and political advocacy by state library associations in the United States. Each state has a library association that works to advance the profession, the interests of its members, and library services. To fill a gap in the literature, we conducted an exploratory survey of state library associations. Specifically, we surveyed the legislative chairs of state library associations and Chief Officers of State Library Association representatives. We collected data via Qualtrics during February 2019 and received thirty-five responses representing thirty-one states, including the District of Columbia. The survey contained quantitative and qualitative questions that were organized into six areas: how advocacy is carried out, perceived differences between advocacy and political advocacy, agenda-setting, the use of lobbyists, political partisanship, and education for advocacy in library and information science.