Calling All Librarians: Contact Your Lawmakers about Library Funding
By SLJ Staff -- School Library Journal, 10/26/2007 6:00:00 AM
If you don’t want to see Congress reduce grants in the state library agencies program under the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), contact your lawmakers to make sure they pass the Senate version of an upcoming appropriations bill.
The American Library Association is urging all members to ask their Representatives and Senators to make sure $171.5 million is appropriated for library-related programs under LSTA and not a lower amount that the House is proposing.
The Senate on October 24 passed the fiscal year 2008 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, which contains funding for several library-related programs. That version asks for $171.5 million for library state grants. The House version passed in July, however, only asks for $167.5 million.
Now that the conferees will meet to reconcile the differences in the bills, it’s urgent that librarians and their supporters push for the higher amount.
LSTA is the only federal program solely devoted to aiding libraries. It consolidates federal library programs, while expanding services for learning and access to information resources in public, school, academic, and research libraries for people of all ages.
LSTA is administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and is distributed through state library agencies to individual libraries via formula grants.
Meanwhile, in the same bill, both the house and senate are requesting $23.7 million for the recruitment of librarians for the 21st century.
