How to Create a Public Information Table

Making special information available publicly in creative ways, called "tabling" here, proves to be a successful way to educate your community and meet others who will join our organization and become locally involved with November Coalition. A person may work alone, with a few friends, or as part of the activity of a November Coalition group.

An informational table can be set up in a busy area of town, at community events, conferences-even at a city park near a sidewalk path that gets a lot of traffic. All you need is visibility and foot traffic - the more the better of course.

Your local Chamber of Commerce, Department of Parks and Recreation, Tourist Board and other public agencies have lists of festivals and other community gatherings where an informational table will be welcome and appropriate. There can be fees charged at some sites, but some are reduced or waived for registered non-profits. You may need to submit documentation. If our office knows at least three weeks in advance, we can help you to complete forms they may request.

Know local regulations and get permission

If you choose a park or public area to table, you will have to get permission from your public authority. Someone at City Hall can advise you about local regulations and any permits required. Applying for a permit is not a difficult process, but remember that it may take as much as several weeks to get approval; so plan appropriately. If you are going to table on a regular basis, try to get a permit that will cover a span of time rather than go through the same permitting process each time. If you're required to obtain a permit each time you table, pick up several copies of the application form to have on file.

Regulations differ from city to city on the selling of merchandise in public. Accepting donations is almost always acceptable; so if you have items such as buttons, or special project material, you can accept donations for them. Remember that by law you can't set a donation amount, only suggest one.

Find out if there are any restrictions on the type of equipment you can use. How big can your table be? How close to or distant from the sidewalk? The Coalition's home office makes display items available that allow you to create a "gallery" of prisoner posters as you see in the photograph. Can you use additional grassy areas in this manner? A city clerk should be able to answer questions that might not be answered from the information you get with the permit application. Just ask.

• Table - card table, perhaps two of them if you aren't working alone, or a folding table of any type. The lighter in weight is better though.
• Chair - plastic lawn chairs or folding chair, again lightweight. If you have volunteers that will be helping you, remind them to bring a chair.
• Literature - The November Coalition can provide you with the current issue of The Razor Wire and a four-page newspaper tabloid publication for handouts to the general public. Please see our Ordering Supplies page for more information about published material available from the home office.
• Posters - If permitted by authority, our laminated (prisoner) posters can be secured to pointed sticks and driven into the ground in grassy areas. Be especially mindful before you pound into the ground not to damage sprinkler systems (water lines are often only a few inches below the surface) and be considered liable for expensive repairs. A display on a portable easel can be made from an assortment of inexpensive products you can purchase at an office supply store - use your imagination and available resources. A chain link fence makes an excellent backdrop for the laminated prisoner-posters.
• Tablecloth - a clean sheet or a plain tablecloth that will cover top and three exposed sides of your table. You can store boxes or bins under the table, keeping the area neat, and presenting a professional appearance.
• Donation jar - A jar is heavier than plastic or a can, but experience teaches that people give when they see that others have given or are giving. To help initiate this process and ensure success, be sure to "seed" your donation jar with a few dollar bills, and a larger bill or two, and don't forget to throw in some loose change. You can pay yourself back later. Seeing is believing!
• Sign-up sheets - Some people you meet will want the opportunity to volunteer with you. You can download a sign-up sheet here.
• Local, state, or national petitions - There may be drug reform initiatives or petition projects that require signatures to be collected. Check with other local or state drug reform activists for current voter initiatives, or with our home office in Washington.
• Banner - The November Coalition has a banner that can be fixed onto the back of your table by using thin wall conduit and clothesline rope, or can be draped on the front of the table and fastened to the table cloth. You can read more about order materials here.
• Miscellaneous - Pins, tape, clear paperweights, trays for literature, plastic stands if you are displaying books. By using stands your table will look neater and will create table space and thus make your table especially appealing to people passing by. If it's going to be rainy and wet, remember to bring waterproof table coverings and an umbrella or full picnic awning if regulations allow it.

See Making a Display for more on setting up an effective table.

This table is too cluttered . . .

Your table shouldn't be cluttered; so take time to arrange it neatly. Sometimes, and particularly at events, other activists may bring literature and petitions to your table, and you could quickly have more information piled up than people can view easily. Remember the adage - Less is More. If you don't have room, or the other material is not appropriate, tactfully tell these people that you have no room at your table for additional information.

. . .while this one strikes a nice balance.

Remove rubber bands from literature so they can easily be taken, and don't forget your clear paperweights!

Watch your donation jar carefully; many a volunteer has lost the generosity of others to a sneaky thief. If you have to leave the table, or know that you are going to be fully distracted, pick up the donation jar, or remove at least most of the money. If you see the jar looking temptingly full, you might want to take out the larger bills and put them in a safe, hidden place.

Interacting with the public

If visitors to your table seem interested, ask them to leave their telephone number and sign a contact list. Say "Thank you, and we'll let you know about upcoming activities." An individual or group can forward this contact information to our office, and we will invite them to join our organization and send them a copy of our newspaper, The Razor Wire.

If you have organized a November Coalition group and meet regularly, be sure that you have this information (Date; place; time of meeting and contact information) on a hand-out you can share with interested people, and all of those that give you their contact information.

Encourage people to help by asking them to call their congressional representatives about particular legislation we are supporting or opposing. The current issue of the Razor Wire and our website has information on legislative alerts.

Use your time wisely, and don't argue with people. A loud or animated conversation will keep others away. Debates are best in a forum, not on a public sidewalk. Respect differences in opinion, and always be polite.

Generally, you will find people receptive and friendly, or they will simply walk by you. You don't have to be aggressive, but when a group is tabling, one person often has some literature in hand for giving to interested people who won't approach the table. Sometimes conversation will be made; other people will just take the literature and continue on. If you have more people than room behind a table, holding prisoner posters, beyond your table - like our vigil model, helps emphasize our message to fellow citizens. Be aware that to be approached, you must look friendly and 'approachable.'

Unless you can afford to photocopy hundreds of flyers - best to save printed information for those who express at least some interest - a pamphlet handed to a busy pedestrian showing no interest is likely to find its way into the nearest garbage receptacle. Use your money wisely. Each copy of the Razor Wire costs about 50¢ to print and ship. They are not a good choice of literature for the general public, except to have on hand for the most interested individuals you meet.

Educating the public is fun, builds personal confidence and reinforces our country's tradition of a responsible citizenry. People are interested in current events and compelling issues, much more than one might realize. Attitudes and opinions are not so hard to change - you are certainly the proof of this truth.