FW: [OPLINLIST] Contact Congress TODAY Regarding Federal Funding for America's Li braries

[Kent Oliver]

Folks, When I spoke with the ALA Washington Office yesterday there were =
still no Ohio Representatives or Senators listed as co-signers on this =
letter.
Thanks, Kent

-----Original Message-----
From: oplinlist-admin@oplin.org [mailto:oplinlist-admin@oplin.org] On =
Behalf Of Jane Byrnes
Sent: Monday, March 22, 2004 1:55 PM
To: 'slolist'; 'oplinlist'; 'infohio'
Subject: [OPLINLIST] Contact Congress TODAY Regarding Federal Funding =
for America's Li braries



----------
From: 	ALAWASH E-MAIL[SMTP:ALAWASH@alawash.org]
<mailto:[SMTP:ALAWASH@alawash.org]>=20
Sent: 	Monday, March 22, 2004 1:48 PM
To: 	ALA Washington Office Newsline
Subject: 	[ALA-WO:905] Contact Congress TODAY Regarding Federal
Funding for America's Libraries

ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline Volume =
13, Number 18 March 22, 2004

In This Issue: CONTACT YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS IMMEDIATELY AND ASK THEM =
TO SUPPORT FEDERAL FUNDING FOR AMERICA'S LIBRARIES

In both the House and the Senate, Members of Congress are circulating =
letters of support for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) =
and the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program to the House =
and Senate Appropriations Committees.  Circulating the letters in =
Congress are Representative Ra=FAl Grijalva (D-AZ) and Representative =
Robert Simmons (R-CT) in the House of Representatives, and Senator Jack =
Reed (D-RI) and Senator Susan M. Collins (R-ME) in the Senate.

The letters are addressed to the House and Senate Labor, Health and =
Human Services and Education Appropriation Subcommittees and =
respectfully request that the House and Senate include $232 million for =
the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and $100 million for the =
Improving Literary Through School Libraries program for FY 2005.

The LSTA and the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program =
provide critical funding for libraries of all kinds nationwide.  Only by =
including $232 million for the LSTA and $100 million for the Improving =
Literacy Through School Libraries program in the Labor, Health and Human =
Services, and Education Appropriations bill will we ensure that library =
patrons of all ages have sufficient access to library and information =
services, support recruiting and educating the next generation of =
librarians, and provide libraries the resources they need to improve =
literacy skills and academic achievement.

ALA's Washington Office strongly encourages ALA's membership to =
immediately contact their elected officials in Congress and urge support =
for these letters and federal library programs. Funding is tight this =
year and competition is very strong among the many groups seeking =
federal funding for the upcoming year.  With a March 24th deadline for =
signatures on the letter in the House of Representatives, it is critical =
that ALA members contact Congress in a timely manner and let them know =
the importance of federal library programs.  Currently only the =
following Members have signed on to the House letter: Rep. Michael =
McNulty, Rep. James McGovern, Rep. Bob Etheridge, Rep. Donna =
Christiansen, Rep. Chris VanHollen, Rep. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Henry =
Waxman. =20
=20
If the number of signatures does not significantly increase, the letter =
will not be taken seriously.  If your Member of Congress is not on the =
letter, it is critical that you contact them immediately.  Time is of =
the essence.=20

Visit ALA's website for more information on these letters at: =
http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOissues/washfunding/funding.htm
<http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOissues/washfunding/funding.htm>=20

ACTION NEEDED: Contact your Member of Congress and ask them to please =
sign the Rep. Grijalva-Rep. Simmons letter in the House and the Sen. =
Reed-Sen. Collins letter in the Senate that support federal library =
programs.  Please do not contact Rep. Grijalva, Rep. Simmons, Sen. Reed =
or Sen. Collins directly.  Instead, ask your Representative's staff to =
contact Rep. Grijalva, Rep. Simmons, Sen. Reed or Sen. Collins' staff to =
add their Member's signature. =20

Use ALA's Washington Office Legislative Action Center at =
http://capwiz.com/ala/home/ <http://capwiz.com/ala/home/>  to identify =
and fax your Members of Congress in both the House and the Senate. =20

You can also call your Member of Congress directly using the U.S. =
Capitol switchboard at:  (202) 225-3121.




******
ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is a free, irregular publication of the American =
Library Association Washington Office. All materials subject to =
copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or =
redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits.

To subscribe to ALAWON, send the message: subscribe ala-wo =
[your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc@ala.org =
<mailto:listproc@ala.org>  or go to http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon =
<http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon> .  To unsubscribe to ALAWON, send =
the message: unsubscribe ala-wo to listproc@ala.org =
<mailto:listproc@ala.org> . ALAWON archives at =
http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon <http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon> .=20

ALA Washington Office, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Suite 403, =
Washington, D.C. 20004-1701; phone: 202.628.8410 or 800.941.8478 =
toll-free; fax: 202.628.8419; e-mail: alawash@alawash.org; =
<mailto:alawash@alawash.org;>  Web site: http://www.ala.org/washoff =
<http://www.ala.org/washoff> .  Executive
Director: Emily Sheketoff.
Office of Government Relations: Lynne Bradley, Director; Carol Ashworth, =
Camille Bowman, Don Essex, Joshua Farrelman, Patrice McDermott and =
Miriam Nisbet. Office for Information Technology Policy: Rick =
Weingarten, Director; Carrie Lowe, Kathy Mitchell, Carrie Russell. =
ALAWON Editor: Bernadette Murphy.



_______________________________________________
OPLINLIST mailing list
OPLINLIST@oplin.org http://mail.oplin.org/mailman/listinfo/oplinlist