Responding to Opposition

How do library campaigns stay on message in the face of critics? You should realize that, no matter how great your campaign message, your library campaign is going to have its critics. It doesn’t matter how much the library is loved, the anti-library groups will almost always have some voice in your community.

There are most likely groups of people in your community with the opinion that the library isn’t needed. There are people who will think that the library should be run by volunteers. There are people who will believe that the library is doing something malicious with their money. Finally, there are most likely groups of people who just plain and simply don’t want to pay more taxes no matter what for.

While you should expect to always have opposition, you shouldn’t always expect to have a fight on your hands. There are ways to quiet the opposition enough that they don’t pose a risk for your campaign. Remember, you don’t need them to be completely quiet, you don’t need them to love the library, you don’t even need them to vote for the library. You just need them to not get in the way, vote against, or sabotage the campaign. Your goal is only to turn them from an active opposition to a passive opposition.

This guide will help you understand how to navigate the opposition to your library campaign.