The current and prospectively annual battles over funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and Innovative Approaches to Literacy have dominated our advocacy work. We have sustained and even expanded funding for IMLS in FY2018, but we are already pushing for support for FY2019 appropriations. At the same time, other important aspects … Continue reading Hope, Power, Action
“We are thrilled that Congress has passed an FY2018 omnibus spending bill today that includes significant federal funding increases for our nation’s libraries! “One year ago, the White House proposed eliminating the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and slashed millions of dollars in federal funding for libraries. Twelve months and tireless advocacy efforts … Continue reading Spending Bill Includes Big Increases for Libraries
In response, American Library Association (ALA) President Jim Neal issued the following statement: “The administration’s FY2019 budget is out of touch with the real needs of Americans and the priorities of leaders in Congress who represent them. The president miscalculates the value of more than 120,000 libraries across America, just as he did in his … Continue reading ALA President Issues Statement on White House Budget
With a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the San José State University (SJSU) School of Information is investigating ways that blockchain technology can be used by libraries as a community anchor to partner with other organizations and to support civic goals. Some suggestions for blockchain applications in libraries include building … Continue reading Librarians Harness the Potential of Blockchain Technology—Get Involved
Libraries from coast to coast are buying hiking backpacks, stuffing them with field guides and park passes, and making them available for checkout. The intent, officials in several libraries agree, is to give families a new reason to get off the couch and into the world. “It’s really becoming more and more popular by the … Continue reading Out of the Branches, into the Woods
A mentor and mentee case study IFLA IMLS fellow Elizabeth Jean Brumfield, distance services librarian at Prairie View (Tex.) A&M University (PVAMU), has been mentored by Denice Adkins, associate professor at University of Missouri’s School of Information Science and Learning Technologies. Through their interactions, they were able to view librarianship from each other’s perspective. Adkins’s … Continue reading Changing Perspectives through Exchange
I am pleased to report that on September 14, the full House of Representatives voted as part of a large spending package (H.R. 3354) not to make any cuts in federal funding for IMLS. This includes all funding for IMLS programs under the Library Services and Technology Act, and for the Department of Education’s Innovative Approaches to … Continue reading Your Efforts Are Helping to #saveIMLS
In “Be a Catalyst: Harnessing Your Portfolio of Resources to Create Catalytic Change in Communities,” sponsored by the ALA Washington Office, Matthew provided advice on how libraries can learn about their communities in order to strengthen their connections to them, while Rip Rapson and Barbara Bartle provided context from national and regional funder points of view. … Continue reading Becoming Catalysts in a Changing World
The Winnebago Reservation in northeastern Nebraska lies about 20 miles from the nearest drugstore. Long on farmland and short on commercial services, this rural area is a place where it’s easy for people who are elderly, homebound, or both to become isolated. Seven years ago, though, the local community college and public library created the … Continue reading Coming Home, Building Community
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 … Continue reading Advocacy in Critical Times
If no one does anything, this could actually happen. Only a band of brave individuals stands between us and this scenario becoming a reality. Who are these heroes? They are us. When speaking at chapters around the country, I often ask attendees to raise their hands if they have ever had their US representative or … Continue reading It’s Time to Make That Call
Right now, here are some possible scenarios with regard to the federal budget: We win most: The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), and Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) are funded but partially cut. We win a few: IMLS and LSTA are funded but seriously cut, and IAL … Continue reading Fight for Libraries
