Advocacy in Critical Times | American Libraries Magazine

"More than 500 librarians and library supporters from every state gathered in Washington, D.C., on May 1–2 for the 43rd National Library Legislative Day (NLLD), an event organized by the American Library Association’s (ALA) Washington Office to bring US senators and representatives together with their constituents to talk about information policy. An additional 1,000 library advocates signed up to participate in Virtual Library Legislative Day to connect with legislators via email, phone, and social media.

The number of attendees was the highest in 10 years, spurred by the Trump administration’s proposed 2018 budget that would eliminate the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the agency that distributes federal funding to state library agencies and other grant programs. As ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels said in his opening statement at the Liaison Capitol Hill Hotel, 'Libraries are facing the challenge of a lifetime, if this funding can be done away with at the stroke of a pen. This is the time when the rubber hits the road.'

One piece of good news came early when Congress announced on May 1 a bipartisan agreement over the 2017 budget, which will fund the government through September 30 and includes $231 million for IMLS. The president is expected to sign it on May 5. Work begins right away on the 2018 federal budget, and librarians are giving the highest priority to this in discussions with their members of Congress this week, urging them to continue to fund libraries through the Library Services and Technology Act ($187 million) and the Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) program ($27 million). About one-third of the House of Representatives has signed Dear Appropriator letters in support of these two programs, and a similar effort is underway to persuade 51 members of the Senate to do so by May 19."