School, Public Libraries to Benefit from Economic Stimulus Package
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By Debra Lau Whelan -- School Library Journal, 02/02/2009
It looks like school and public libraries are going to benefit from the impending $825 billion economic stimulus package.
The House has already passed its version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and libraries are specifically singled out for aid. The American Library Association (ALA) says the Senate version, which could pass sometime next week, should offer similar assistance.
The act offers aid to many government agencies, and although libraries don’t fall under one specific agency, they are mentioned in a few sections of the bill, says Melanie Anderson, ALA’s associate director for the Office of Government Relations.
The House bill, for example, allocates $14 billion to the K–12 Repair and Modernization Program, which specifies that the money can be used to upgrade school libraries.
The funds would be allocated to states based on their 2008 Title I distributions, and then it would be left to school districts to decide whether to give any of that money to their media centers.
The Senate version of the bill, which is being hammered out this week, does even better. It allocates $16 billion to so-called school modernization, and although it doesn’t specifically mention school libraries, ALA is working with Congressional leaders to include them in the final version of the law, Anderson adds.
Now that Head Start programs are required to work more closely with school and public libraries on events such as storytime and promoting library cards, libraries are expected to also benefit from the extra $2 billion in funding that the stimulus package proposes for the federal early childhood development program, says Anderson.
In December 2007, the House and Senate passed the Improving Head Start Act, which recognizes the important role that libraries play in improving literacy, marking the first time that Congress has ever mentioned the role of libraries in Head Start programs.
Both the House and Senate economic recovery bills also include a State Stabilization Fund, a $79 billion program that helps states make up for shortfalls in spending for elementary and secondary education and higher education, as well as government services, which could include public libraries. Some 61 percent of the fund is allocated for education in the proposed bills, while 39 percent is intended for shortfalls in other government services. ALA is urging the Senate to amend the State Stabilization Fund to specifically include public libraries in the legislative language. By including the words “public libraries” to this legislation, libraries would have access to critical funding needed to continue their services.
Another way libraries will benefit from the economic recovery plan is through the existing Rural Community Facilities Program, which provides financing to local governments, nonprofit corporations, and federally recognized Indian tribes for the development of essential community facilities in rural areas. These funds can be used for health care facilities, libraries, and other important community needs. The bill calls for an additional $200 million on top of the program’s current $1 billion budget.
The Senate will debate its bill this week, and both sides of Congress are expected to work out their differences and have the bill on the President’s desk by February 16, says Anderson. Although no Republicans voted for the House bill, it’s expected that some GOP members will vote for the Senate version, she adds.
