Bush Proposes Library Increases for FY2007
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Debra Lau Whelan -- School Library Journal, 2/15/2006
Library supporters are applauding the recent funding increases for libraries proposed by President Bush in his FY 2007 budget. The president is requesting $220.9 million for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), the only federal program created exclusively for libraries. That's a $10.25 million increase from last year.
Overall, Bush is asking for $262.2 million for the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a 6.1 percent increase for the agency that administers LSTA. And even though the president is proposing that the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries grant program be level funded at $19.5 million, that's still good news, says Emily Sheketoff, the executive director of the American Library Association's (ALA) Washington office. "We're grateful because so many programs in education were cut or eliminated," she says.
Ultimately, ALA's goal is to get the grant program—which is part of the No Child Left Behind Act—funded at its authorized level of $250 million. But in these tight budgetary times, where the focus is on national security, it'll be a long time until Congress even funds the school library program at $100 million, turning it from a competitive grant into a state block grant.
