Kemper started his position in January 2020 with “mixed messages”—he’d been appointed by a president who had proposed defunding IMLS over three consecutive years and unanimously confirmed in the Senate, which had approved increases for the agency over the same period. There was no time to process the president’s fourth proposed elimination before the pandemic … Continue reading Realms of Opportunity
LSFA (S. 4181/H.R. 7486) would establish a $2 billion emergency fund to address financial losses and bolster library services for libraries of all types, with priority given to the hardest-hit communities. Most of the funding ($1.7 billion) would go directly to states to meet local library needs such as avoiding furloughs, providing safe workspaces, or … Continue reading Pushing for Action on LSFA
In addition to the participants in Washington, D.C, hundreds of library supporters also registered to participate virtually by connecting with legislators via phone calls, emails, and social media this week. In opening remarks on May 7, ALA President Jim Neal introduced a recurrent theme throughout the livestreamed event: “The thing about advocacy is that it’s … Continue reading Library Supporters Gear Up for “Year-Round Advocacy”
This question was posed to three panelists at a policy hackathon, cohosted by ALA’s Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) and the Internet Association on November 17 at Google’s Washington, D.C., office. Chaired by ALA President Julie B. Todaro and with welcome remarks by Google’s Head of Global Industry Relations Carley Graham Garcia, the session … Continue reading Partnering with Tech
