Voices for Libraries 2025

was held March 5-6, 2025 in Washington D.C.

The Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA) successfully hosted, “Voices for Libraries 2025.”  This event invited library advocates from every state to travel to Washington, DC to talk with legislators about the importance of libraries and to advocate for support.

Who Attended

Representatives from all 50 states were encouraged to participate.
Due to space limitations, we are asked that state delegations be kept to no more than eight people.

State Captains

Each State Library Agency (SLA) appointed a “State Captain.”  This individual was responsible for coordinating attendees from their state, requesting and confirming meetings with their elected representatives, and reporting out on the meetings.  The State Captain was the primary contact for each state and served as the communications conduit.  The State Captain can be the Chief Officer, a State Library Agency Staffer, a representative of the State Library Association, or any library advocate who is committed to fulfilling the obligations of the role.  It is intended that each State Captain ATTEND the event in DC.

A roster of state captains will be added to this page.  You may reach out to your state captain for more information on the event.

Priorities

The Voices for Libraries 2025 event focused on advancing:

• Advance Federal Funding to Strengthen and Expand Library Services
• Fostering Strong Readers for a Brighter Future
• Invest in Universal and Affordable Broadband Access

Schedule of Events

Tuesday, March 4, 2025

COSLA Spring Meeting 2025
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

This full-day gathering is exclusively for the Chief Officers. The Spring Meeting is a business and general interest meeting and is not related to advocacy.

Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Voice for Libraries – Briefing Day
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM*
MLK Jr. Branch of the DC Public Library

The Briefing will include presentations from seasoned advocates and policy experts to ensure that everyone is prepared for their visits to the Hill. Briefing Day will include coffee and light refreshments at the start of the day, and lunch for all participants.  A registration fee will be collected for the Briefing Day to offset hospitality and administrative costs.

* The exact schedule for the Briefing Day program will be distributed to registrants.

• Library Advocates Reception
  

  Reception – 5:30 – 6:30
  Capitol City Brewing Company - 1100 NY Ave / NW

Thursday, March 6, 2025

Voices for Libraries – Day of Action (Hill Day)
All Day
Individual Meetings as set by each state delegation.

Voice for Libraries Registration

Registration is $89/person and is payable via credit card at the time of registration.*
Registration needs to be submitted for EACH delegate who plans to attend the Voices for Libraries Briefing Day event. Registration will open in January 2025. Registration closed on February 7.
* If credit card payment poses an issue for your agency, please contact the COSLA staff. 

Travel & Lodging Info

DC Map of Event Sites

Partners

COSLA is grateful for the partnership of the Association for Small and Rural Libraries (ARSL) and the Urban Libraries Council (ULC)

Questions?
Contact COSLA – [email protected]