[ISLMA-Share] Big Federal Funding Increases for Libraries

Sat Mar 24 12:43:31 CDT 2018

Colleagues--
As you are aware, President Trump has signed the FY2018 omnibus federal
spending bill. The message below from ALA contains info in regards to
federal funds for libraries. I have put the funding info in bold print for
you.

Please note that the efforts for this funding started last year by
encouraging US Senators and Congressmen to sign "Dear Colleague" letters.
(The recent requests were for FY2019 funding letters. So we are always
working months ahead.)

Thank you to all who have contacted Congress in these efforts!

Lou Ann Jacobs
IASLE Legislation Advocacy

*The following message is from ALA President Jim Neal:*

We are thrilled that Congress has passed an FY2018 omnibus spending bill
today that includes significant federal funding increases for our nation’s
libraries!

One year ago, the White House proposed eliminating the Institute of Museum
and Library Services (IMLS) and slashed millions of dollars in federal
funding for libraries. Twelve months and tireless advocacy efforts later,
ALA advocates have helped libraries:

   - *win $9 million more for IMLS than it had in FY 2017, including $5.7
   million for the Library Services and Technology Act.*
   - *restore $27 million for the Innovative Approaches to Literacy
   program.*
   - *provide $350 million for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.*

*Congress also appropriated an unexpected $700 million for Title IV
education programs, which opens doors to new funding for school libraries.*
On top of the good news about funding for libraries, Congress added a
policy provision that has been on our advocacy agenda for years:
Congressional Research Services (CRS) reports will now be published online
by the Library of Congress, ensuring for the first time permanent public
access to valuable government information.

The path
<http://www.ala.org/advocacy/sites/ala.org.advocacy/files/content/libfunding/fed/ALA%20Advocates%20on%20the%20Path%20to%20Funding.png>
 through the FY2018 appropriations process has been long. One lesson from
this budget cycle is that when libraries speak, decision-makers listen. At
critical points in the process last year, ALA members from every U.S.
congressional district responded to our calls to action. As a result, a
record number of representatives and senators signed our FY 2018 “dear
appropriator” letters last spring. As the House and Senate Appropriations
Committees worked on their respective bills last summer, ALA members made
more targeted phone calls and visits and leveraged their local media to
tell their library stories. Our advocacy earned bipartisan support in both
chambers of Congress.

The persistence of library advocates has paid off for every single
community in our nation, from big cities to small towns. This is a time to
honor the power of ALA’s advocacy.

This is also a time to strengthen our resolve. The FY2018 budget passage
represents a major win for libraries – a win that needs to fuel even more
aggressive efforts to advocate for federal library funding in FY2019
<http://www.districtdispatch.org/2018/02/white-house-budget-proposal-continues-to-miscalculate/>
.

To protect federal library funding, we need to keep reminding Congress that
libraries bring leaders and experts together to solve difficult problems,
that we deliver opportunities, from academic success to work-readiness. We
need to invite elected leaders into our libraries to see what we do for
their constituents with a small investment of federal dollars. And we need
to engage our library users and other community leaders in this important
work.

ALA’s Washington Office will continue to provide the expertise, strategy
and resources that have helped make our advocacy so effective. To get
involved, visit ala.org/fundlibraries
<http://www.ala.org/advocacy/fund-libraries>.

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