President Raises 2004 Library Funding

President Bush's 2004 budget includes a proposal to increase library and museum funding to $242 million, a 15 percent increase from last year. Some $207.6 million will go toward libraries.

The news couldn't have come at a better time. Over the next 16 years, about 68 percent of librarians are expected to retire or leave the profession, and the president hopes to address the problem by focusing on recruiting and training the next generation of librarians. Bush's 2004 budget also requested $20 million, or twice last year's request of $10 million, to help tackle the recruitment issue.

Federal funding for the nation's 122,000 libraries comes from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which supplies grants to help fund new technology and bring information to children, families, schools, and communities.