ALA
Members and Friends:
The Library Services and Technology Act,
LSTA, the only federal legislation that funds libraries exclusively, needs to be
reauthorized by Congress before September 30, 2002. The American Library
Association (ALA) is working with many other library groups to assure that LSTA
continues to provide federal dollars to serve as a catalyst for change in
libraries nationwide.
The coalition is proposing minor changes
that will improve library services while creating a sound and effective
legislative strategy to encourage Congress to approve reauthorization as quickly
as possible. Your assistance in helping us achieve these goals is both critical
and greatly appreciated.
A reauthorized LSTA will remain flexible,
and each community will decide how to best use the money to leverage state and
local funds. The proposed bill encourages all types of libraries to make use of
this funding, but raises the authorization to $500 million. This means
that more funds will be available for state-based grants and local programs,
National Leadership Grants, and grants to Native American libraries. I
think we all agree that this increased funding is essential to enable libraries
to provide a range of new services to our user communities.
I
encourage each of you to reach out to at least two library users in your
community and ask them to contact your Member of Congress and both
Senators. We really need library patrons to educate Congress on how
important a reauthorized Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) is to their
local communities.
Attached is a brochure to assist you in the
effort to get this very important bill passed. We encourage you to download the
brochure and distribute it to your library users and advocates. For further
information and help getting started, visit the new LSTA web site at: http://www.ala.org/washoff/lsta.html
Thank you in advance for your time and assistance on this very
important federal library funding initiative.
Sincerely,
John W. Berry
President
The American
Library Association
2001-02
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