Election Fallout: Leaner Libraries?

While Republicans celebrate the results of the November 5 national elections, the victory could spell bad news for school and public libraries. In short, a new one-party domination means libraries will have a much harder time obtaining more federal funds—putting further strain on an already dismal economic climate for libraries.

Republican control of both the House and Senate could mean that Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), and the lawmakers who support his new "Literacy Through School Libraries" legislation, will see only a marginal increase to the $12.5 million appropriated for school library materials in fiscal year 2002. Congress passed the so-called Reed Amendment in December 2001, marking the first time in three decades that federal funds had been specifically carved out for school library materials (see May 2002, News, p. 17).

Reed had hoped the Senate Appropriations Committee would raise school library funding to $100 million for fiscal year 2003, a trigger amount that would give every state a chunk of money to distribute to school districts that serve low income communities. Currently, federal funds for school libraries are distributed through a competitive grant program administered by the Department of Education.

It's not that Republicans are anti-libraries, Senate staffers say. They're just more focused on issues, such as homeland security and a possible war with Iraq, and as a result, there will be less federal money devoted to school and public libraries.

"The Republican pressure to put money in tax cuts, the budget deficit, and other priorities may be to the exclusion of good programs in education," admits one Senate staffer.

Under the best case scenario, Congress will pass a version of the budget proposed by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), chairman of the Labor, Health, and Human Services and Education Senate Appropriations Subcommittee, which will give school libraries $25 million for fiscal year 2003—double last year's allocation, but still a paltry amount. Under the worst case scenario, Congress will pass a continuing resolution, which simply maintains last year's funding level of $12.5 million for school libraries, says Emily Sheketoff, executive director of the American Library Association's (ALA) Washington office. At press time, it was unclear whether Congress's 107th lame-duck session would complete work on the school library-funding bill before the next session begins on January 20, 2003.

In a less likely scenario, Congress could pass President Bush's budget, which also keeps library funding at $12.5 million. Why would President Bush, who signed the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act into law, maintain school library funding at such low levels? Library supporters and those on Capitol Hill say that like many Republicans, the president believes school libraries are best funded through private sources. The Laura Bush Foundation for American Libraries, for example, was recently created to distribute grants to school libraries to purchase books and materials.

"There's no strong acknowledgement by Republicans that [library] programs—which they do think are important—should get the kind of funding they need to be successful," Sheketoff says. "Now it's going to get harder to get the resources necessary for these programs."

A Republican-controlled Congress also means it'll be harder to get additional funding for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), which currently stands in the president's 2003 budget at $184 million, Sheketoff says. A House bill ups the amount to $300 million for fiscal year 2003 and a Senate bill asks for $350 million. Although House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX) had been trying to get a vote on LSTA reauthorization since April, it's still unclear whether that will take place during this session, Senate staffers say.

To make matters worse, Congressman Tom DeLay (R-TX), who has not been a fan of federal funding for libraries, will replace Armey in January. "The conservative Republicans in the House oppose anything that will help libraries get more money," Sheketoff adds. "They're happy with the current funding, or even less." If LSTA funding stays at current levels, libraries will receive less than $1 per U.S. citizen for technology-related information and materials, such as access to statewide databases and devices to assist the disabled.

What can school librarians and their supporters do to help? "We have to demonstrate overwhelming popularity to force [reauthorization] to a vote," Sheketoff says. Overall, library supporters need to be more vocal and align themselves with parents, teachers, and principals to let congressional leaders know that school and public library funding is imperative, she adds.

"There's so much attention on other national issues that unless there's a great public outcry to support these programs, they're going to be gone," Sheketoff says.