CLA Call to Action :: Phone Your Representatives Today :: President's Budget to Eliminate Federal Library Funding

FEDERAL BUDGET NEWS - YOUR ACTION REQUESTED TODAY!

CLA Latest News: March 2017

                         

Dear California Library Community:

If you have not yet seen the news this morning, the new Federal budget (among other things) eliminates the IMLS. 

ALA Press Release – President’s budget proposal to eliminate federal library funding 'counterproductive and short-sighted'

·  Budget from White House – America First

·  Details about the budget – What Trump cut in his budget

      Washington Post: 3.16.2017 by Kim Soffen and Denise Lu 

Read related:  Trump federal budget 2018: Massive cuts to the arts, science and the poor

Members of House Appropriations 

· Calvert, 42^nd District  (Corona/IE)

· Valadao, 21^st District (Hanford)

· Roybal-Allard, 40^th District (Commerce)

· Lee, 13^th District (East Bay)

· Aguilar, 31^st District (San Bernardino/IE)

·   Library Services & Technology Act Funding in California

·  2015-2016 LSTA Funds by District

Please get on the phone with your representatives today, this is urgent.

Helen McAlary,

President, California Library Association

5 Minutes Can Net Libraries $200 Million :: Federal Budget

Five minutes can net libraries $200 million next year

District Dispatch: 3.11.2016 by Kevin Maher

Earlier this week, we asked for your help in defending the more than $200 million in LSTA and other federal library funding from Congressional and Administration cost-cutters.

Time was short then and it’s even shorter now.

Your help is needed to get your Representative and both US Senators to sign “Dear Appropriator” letters supporting LSTA and Innovative Approaches to Literacy grants, among others.  With just a few days left to get as many members of Congress behind those programs as humanly possible, now is the time for you to go to ALA’s Legislative Action Center and help save more than $200 million for communities across the country . . . very likely including yours!

A strong showing on these letters sends a signal to the Appropriations Committees’ to protect LSTA and IAL funding. So far, your work has generated thousands of emails, but frankly, we need many, many more.

Whether you call, email, tweet or all of the above (which would be great), the message to the office staff of your Senators and Representative is simple:

“Hello, I’m a constituent.

Please ask Representative/Senator ________

to sign the LSTA and IAL ‘Dear Appropriator’ letters

circulating for signature!”

Please take five minutes to call, email, or Tweet at your Members of Congress and support library funding for 2017. For more detailed information, read our earlier post on District Dispatch.

Now is the time to contact your Members of Congress’ offices.

Senate letters must be completed by March 14

House letters must be completed by March 18.

Help Secure Funding for Key Library Programs :: LSTA <> IAL

Help us secure funding for key library programs

District Dispatch: 3.09.2015 by Kevin Maher

The appropriations process is in full swing and library priority programs face tremendous scrutiny from Members of Congress in search of programs to cut or put on the chopping block. This is your time to be heard and let Congress know how important continued funding is for the Library Services Technology Act (LSTA) and Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL).

You can make the difference. Members of Congress need to let the Appropriations Committee know of their support for continued funding. Contact your Senators and Representative and ask them to add their name to both “Dear Colleague” letters supporting LSTA and IAL currently being circulated. Many Members of Congress will only add their names if they hear from constituents.  Note: these letters are due before the end of the month so you will need to call this week.

For a list of who signed the letters last year, view the FY 2015 Funding Letter Signees document (pdf).

Support Funding for Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA)

LSTA is the only source of funding for libraries in the federal budget. The bulk of this funding is returned to states through a population-based grant program through the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Libraries use these funds to, among other things, build and maintain a 21st century library that facilitates employment and entrepreneurship, community engagement, and individual empowerment.

Please contact your Senators (202-224-3121) and Representative (202-225-3121) this week and ask them to sign on to a letter supporting LSTA being organized by the members listed below. Your Members of Congress will need to contact these offices by March 20 to add their name to the letters:

•  Senate LSTA letter: Senator Jack Reed

(staffer Moira Lenehan-Razzuri)

•  Representative LSTA letter: Rep. Raul Grijalva

(staffer Norma Salazar)

Support Funding for Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL)

IAL is the only federal program supporting literacy for underserved school libraries IAL has become the primary source for federal funding for school library materials.  Focusing on low income schools, these funds help many schools bring their school libraries up to standard.

Please contact your Senators (202-224-3121) and Representative (202-225-3121) this week and ask them to sign on to a letter supporting IAL being organized by the members listed below. Your Members of Congress will need to contact one of these offices before March 20 to add their name to the letters:

•  Senate IAL letter: Senators Jack Reed

(staffer: Moira Lenehan-Razzuri)

Charles Grassley

(staffer: James Rice)

•  House IAL letter: Reps. Eddie Bernice Johnson

(staffer: Don Andres)

Support Library Funding: Contact your U.S. Senators and Reps Today

Support Library Funding

Contact your U.S. Senators and Reps Today

District Dispatch: 3.19.2014 by Jeffrey Kratz

Please contact your U.S. Senators and Representatives 

by going to the Legislative Action Center and urge them to support funding in FY 2015 for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL).

There are currently two letters circulating in the House of Representatives and the Senate. One letter (a letter in the House and a in the Senate) is asking for support of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) in the FY 2015 Appropriations bill. The other letter (a letter in the House and a in the Senate) is asking for support for the Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) program also in the FY 2015 Appropriations bill. To find out if your legislators have signed one of the letters this year, view this chart (pdf). If not please contact him/her and encourage them to do so. If your Senator or Representative has signed one of these letters, please thank him/her for their support of libraries.

Read below for some background information on LSTA and IAL.

LSTA

Is the primary source of annual funding for libraries in the federal budget.  The bulk of this program is a population-based grant funded to each state through the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Each state determines how they will allocate their LSTA funds, often relying upon this money to provide job searching databases, resume workshops, summer reading projects, and so much more. In addition, LSTA also supports:

•Native American and Native Hawaiian Library Services to support improved access to library services for Native Americans, Alaska Native Villages, and Native Hawaiians

•National Leadership Grants to support activities of national significance that enhances the quality of library services nationwide and provide coordination between libraries and museums

•Laura Bush 21st Century Librarians which is used to help develop and promote the next generation of librarians.

IAL

From 2002 to 2010, the Improving Literacy through School Libraries program had been the primary source of federal funding for school libraries. However, in recent years the President and U.S. Congress have consolidated or zero-funded this program. ALA gives a special thanks to Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Thad Cochran (R-MS) who recognized that school libraries need a direct funding source in the federal budget. In FY 2012, through report language in the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill, the two redirected money to the U.S. Department of Education to create the IAL program.

With Improving Literacy through School Libraries being defunded, IAL has taken over as the primary source of federal funding for school libraries.  Focusing on low income schools, these funds help many schools bring their school libraries up to standards. This money is not enough to help every school library, but it does help some with updating materials and equipment, allowing children from disadvantaged areas to have opportunities to become college and career ready.

Beaumont Library - Literacy becomes mobile with Beaumont Library’s ‘Ready to Read’ van

Literacy becomes mobile with Beaumont Library’s ‘Ready to Read’ van
Record Gazette: 7.24.2012

The Board of Trustees of the Beaumont Library District announces the arrival of the Ready to Read Van, provided through a grant from the Federal Library Services and Technology Act.

The $90,000 Community Early Literacy Project was created to take early literacy services out of the library to children from birth to five years old.

The services are designed for children at facilities that provide childcare and at preschools throughout the library district. Nearly 2,000 items will be available on the Ready to Read Van for Childcare providers to select from during each visit by the van.

“The Ready to Read Van gives us an option to work more closely with our community on the critical importance of early literacy skill development for young children,” stated Nancy Wood, Outreach Librarian, “We can deliver books, learning kits, and storytime materials, along with training for their use, in an environment where the message of read early and read often has proven of critical importance to ensure children enter their school years ready to learn to read.”

The Ready to Read Van made its local debut appearance in the annual Cherry Festival Parade and was shown off nationally at the American Library Association’s Annual Conference in Anaheim at the end of June.

“The van displays original art provided by Michael Emberley, a children’s book illustrator, whose artwork so clearly captured the joy of reading and the essence of the early learning experience in the book An Annoying ABC by Barbara Bottner,” said Clara DiFelice, Library Director. “We took a chance and asked him if we could use the artwork and were thrilled when he said sure!”

Childcare providers and preschoolers throughout Beaumont and Cherry Valley are encouraged to contact Nancy Wood at the library at (951) 845-3222, to schedule a visit by the Ready to Read Van.