American Library Association Appeals To U.S. Senate

By Jason Boog 

The American Library Association’s Washington office is urging library supporters to contact their U.S. Senators by the end of day–asking legislators to sign a letter encouraging Congress to maintain library funding at current levels.

Follow this PDF link to read the letter. Here’s more from the letter: “We write to urge you to support the education, workforce, and economic development needs of Americans by providing funding at the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 level for our nation’s library programs – the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program – in the FY 2012 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill. Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Libraries serve a unique and important role in providing free access to all types of information and computing services.

The demand for such services has grown in concert with the need to apply online for many jobs and government services and as Americans have been increasingly unable to afford broadband in their homes. Indeed, throughout the economic downturn, patrons have been turning to their local library for assistance and access to essential information on a wide range of topics.”