Review: Advocacy and Awareness for Archivists (2019)
Patricia Glowinski
Roe, Kathleen D. Advocacy and Awareness for Archivists. Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 2019. 160 pages. Paperback, EPUB, PDF. $69.00 (retail), $49.00 (SAA member price).
Kathleen D. Roe’s, Advocacy and Awareness for Archivists, is an information-packed manual for doing advocacy and awareness. It sounds the alarm for archivists to make the necessary time to do the essential work of bringing awareness of and advocating for archives and archivists. “Advocacy and awareness rarely (if ever) appear on a list of core archival functions. In the professional literature, in archival education, and in their day-to-day work, archivists focus on the theory and practice of appraisal, acquisition, arrangement and description, preservation, reference, and access. Nonetheless, advocacy and awareness are important — indeed essential — to the health of institutions with archival holdings and for the archives profession itself” (102). As part of the Archival Fundamental Series published by the Society of American Archivists (SAA), advocacy and awareness work is rightfully positioned as one of the key activities and responsibilities of archivists.
A veteran archivist with many years of experience in the field, Roe served as Director of Archives and Records Management Operations at the New York State Archives until her recent retirement. During her long career she has been a tireless and effective advocate for archives and archivists, and has spent many hours serving the archives community including as president of the Society of American Archivists (2014–2015) and as president of the Council of State Archives. As a Society of American Archivists Fellow, Roe has served on or chaired numerous committees such as the Committee on Archival Information Exchange, the Continuing Education and Professional Development Committee, the Appointments Committee, and the Government Affairs Working Group. Beyond writing extensively on advocacy she has also written on other subjects including archival arrangement and description.
In Chapter 1, “Introduction to Advocacy and Awareness,” Roe introduces three terms — awareness, advocacy, and lobbying — and clearly defines and explains the difference between them. Specificity in message, audience, and outcome is the main difference — awareness being most general and lobbying the most specific. Helpful tables are included to show examples of each activity. In this chapter, Roe stresses that archivists need to develop an “archival advocacy frame of mind” (2) to be able to effectively communicate to others why archives and archivists matter — a message she reiterates throughout the book.
Roe delves into past advocacy and awareness initiatives in Chapter 2, “Advocacy and Awareness in the “Real World” of Archives” to provide examples of the approaches taken and the commitment needed to bring awareness of the value of archives and the role archivists play in society; to establish archival institutions and programs; and to plan and execute legislative and policy advocacy initiatives at any level of government. To find “real world” examples, Roe painstakingly searched back issues of SAA’s Archival Outlook (and its predecessor, the SAA Newsletter).¹ She addresses the difficulty she had in finding documentation of past advocacy and awareness initiatives and calls on the archives profession to develop case studies and contribute to the advocacy literature. Roe points out that many of the examples in the book are reactive, initiated due to a threat to funding, the closure of an archive, the aftermath of a natural disaster, or the incoming of a new governmental administration. She stresses that proactive advocacy is also crucial to ensure that we position our collections and profession in the most stable conditions possible.
Chapters 3 through 5 dive into the essential steps of advocacy and awareness work and serve as building blocks for embarking on, planning, and executing advocacy and awareness actions. The chapters “provide information gained from past initiatives in archives as well as insights from other professions and efforts to help highlight approaches, best practices, and skills that the archives community needs to become more adept and successful in advocacy and awareness efforts” (33).
Chapter 3, “Developing Goals for Advocacy and Awareness Initiatives,” focuses on the why and how of creating a well-constructed and focused goal statement that defines “a specific need or action targeted at a specific audience with specific outcomes that will produce specific results” (39). Roe emphasizes that not only must every advocacy and awareness initiative start with a “defined goal with a clearly articulated purpose” (38) but that the goal must support the mission and strategic plans of the institution or organization the effort is aimed at. At the end of the chapter Roe provides sets of “hard” questions to help define your goal and develop a concise, effective goal statement.
In the next chapter, “Understanding Audiences, Key Stakeholders, and Supporters,” Roe discusses strategies for identifying and assessing target audiences, key stakeholders, supporters — and even opponents — of your advocacy or awareness initiatives. She recommends looking both internally and externally within your organization or community for target groups or individuals and creating a list of who will benefit from the initiative, who can help you, or who may hinder you. Much of the chapter focuses on assessment; a key skill that Roe stresses is crucial to effective planning of any advocacy or awareness effort. To this end, Roe urges for the acquisition of cultural competency skills in order to be able to truly understand the concerns and context of those who are identified as your target groups. The chapter includes sets of questions to help with assessment and to challenge incorrect assumptions you may have that can hinder your efforts.
In Chapter 5, “Developing a Compelling Message,” Roe moves to the next stage in planning — creating a core statement that can be crafted specifically and presented compellingly to target audiences, key stakeholders, and supporters. Roe delivers strategies to help you convey your message through employing stories, quantitative data, and/or qualitative data that will connect with your audience. “The important thing to remember is that you should craft both your message and the way in which it is packaged to what is most likely to resonate with your target group” (70).
After progressing through the approaches and strategies presented in Chapters 3–5, Chapter 6, “Putting Advocacy and Awareness into Practice,” focuses on the delivery of the message — when should the message be delivered, who should deliver the message, and how should the message be communicated. When choosing delivery methods, Roe emphasizes that being prepared and flexible will help ensure that you deliver your message to your target group at the best time (consider budget/grant cycles, university or government schedules, etc.), by the most effective person or group (should it be you, your grassroots supporters, your grasstops supporters), and in the most effective way (social media, in-person, in writing). Your previous work in understanding the schedules, motivations, needs, and preferences of your target group should inform your delivery methods and will help lead to success.
In Chapter 7, “Advocating with Government Officials,” Roe’s knowledge of the workings of government really shines through. Although much of the same practices and strategies recommended in the earlier chapters should be used when advocating with government officials, Roe stresses the specificity of this kind of advocacy. “Pubic and legislative advocacy has specific and defined practices, approaches, and sometimes rules of conduct and operation for those advocating with or lobbying government officials” (89). Roe points out that there are really only two kinds of actions when advocating with government officials — lobbying (seeking support through votes on legislation) and building relationships (with officials and their staffs) — and she makes very clear the importance of both. “Legislative advocacy is essential to the archives profession” (100). If we are to secure the funding, support, and understanding needed from our government officials and leaders for the work we do, “advocacy must be taken on as a professional responsibility by all members of the archives profession” (100).
The book concludes with Chapter 8, “Advocacy and Awareness: Taking the Next Steps” followed with a very handy appendix. Summing up the previous chapters, Chapter 8 reinforces the practices and strategies learned in the previous chapters in the form of a concise “to do” list. Roe also urges archives advocates to find their own voice, as advocates can be any kind of person and personality. In fact, the more diverse the better as this allows us to connect authentically with our equally diverse audiences, key stakeholders, and supporters in the advocacy initiatives we undertake.
In Chapter 2, Roe reminds the reader it took over thirty years of advocacy work to establish the United States National Archives (later renamed the National Archives and Records Administration) and the impetus of its establishment was the tireless work and acumen of J. Franklin Jameson. In this example she illustrates that success does not come automatically and that awareness and advocacy work requires key attributes and skills such as initiative, planning, preparation, research, communication, collaboration, flexibility, assessment, and perseverance. As important should be our belief that advocacy is our responsibility and that this work matters. As Roe encourages, “The most powerful tool available to you in advocating for archives is the realization that you can make a difference” (90). Advocacy and Awareness for Archivists is just the resource to get advocating.
- Archives in Context. Season 2, Episode 6: Kathleen D. Roe. September 24, 2019. Accessed November 18, 2019. https://archivesincontext.archivists.org/2019/09/24/season-2-episode-6-kathleen-d-roe/
Patricia Glowinski is an archivist at the New York City Municipal Archives and is serving as Director of the Advocacy Committee (2019–2021) for the Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York.
