DGI Annual Business Meeting:
Bernadine E. Abbott-Hoduski

By Chris Zammarelli, The Brookings Institution

Abbott-Hoduski noted her role in starting GODORT, saying that she was not going to be "falsely modest" about it.  She called GODORT ALA's troublemakers.  "That is the essence of lobbying, being a troublemaker," she said.

A bit of advice she offered about the lobbying process is to identify a professional committee staff member to lobby because they are hired for their lobbying ability.  They therefore survive longer than political staffers. (Although she did note, "No one is not a political staffer.")  She also said that they tend to know what they're doing.

However, she recommended being patient with whomever you are talking to, "no matter how lowly you think a staffer is."  She added, "Think of yourself as a children's librarian," and explain your issue in detail and in the easiest-to-understand terms.