It's just incredibly pathetic

Somebody has to do something, and it's just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us. - Jerry Garcia

Garcia's famous quote came immediately to mind when I agreed to become our state school library/technology association's legislative chair last summer. This committee had been very ably led for as long as I had been in MEMO by two remarkable people - Frank Birmingham and Judy Bull. These folks seemingly knew each key legislator, every state law, and the entire history of education in Minnesota. It was humbling and a bit frightening to be asked to fill such shoes. You can't hope to measure up - only to not screw up too terribly.

Thankfully MEMO shares a professional lobbyist with the Minnesota Library Association. We develop a joint legislative platform and participate in joint lobbying efforts including a "Library Legislative Day" each spring in St. Paul. So far this fall, we've gotten the 2007 platform developed and we are now working on talking points. I've been using my pbwiki site trying to get broader membership input into these publications.  I can't say the wiki's been terribly successful - I haven't gotten many editors.

A variety of organizations also host local legislative events. I've been to three in the past two weeks. At each meeting, I've had the chance to explain our platform and to listen to predictions about the upcoming legislative session in Minnesota, which basically boils down to "no more money for YOU even though we have a $2 billion surplus over the next biennium."  Our planks to allow districts to levy for libraries and technology, to require that every child have the services of a professional librarian, and to mandate information and technology skills be assessed and reported to the state have met with, well, less than enthusiastic responses from legislators of both political stripes.

Despite the time and frustration often involved in working on legislative issues, I really don't see how anyone who really cares about educational technology, libraries, schools and kids can NOT participate in the process. It's a genuine professional obligation, if you ask me. Here's the deal - you don't participate, you don't have a right to whine about the political decisions made for you. Simple as that. 

I keep an old poster over my desk that nicely summarizes my philosophy regarding the legislative process: "The race is not always to the swift but to those who keep on running." It's just incredibly pathetic that it's up to us to be the ones running.

Ken Ferguson, The Race is Not Always to the Swift