Good afternoon, all.
For the fourth year in a row, the White House budget proposal eliminates funding for IMLS, and we need your support to fix that.
Our work together over the past three years has resulted in Congress restoring and, in fiscal year 2020, increasing funding for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), and sustaining funding for the Innovative Approaches to Literacy Act (IAL). Although the routine is familiar, we must act with a fresh sense of urgency to ensure that federal funding for libraries is a priority for Congress in FY 2021.
The “Dear Appropriator” campaign has begun. Two library-specific "Dear Appropriator" letters are circulating in the House and Senate. One asks members of the Appropriations Committee for $206 million to fund the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). The other asks the Committee to fully fund ($27 million) the Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) program. The more signatures we have, the more likely appropriators are to fund LSTA and IAL programs. Both letters have bipartisan sponsors in each chamber.
Here is our request to you:
- We ask that every state association submit letters to all of their members of Congress, requesting that they sign onto or support the “Dear Appropriator” letters. Template letters are attached; please customize them as appropriate. Remember, also, to thank legislators who have signed onto these letters in the past. You can see your legislators’ signing history here: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/
fund-libraries.
- Please help us keep track of letters that have been submitted by sharing them with us via this form: https://airtable.com/
shrgwsmBLQqe5Qrtx. If you would like assistance addressing and submitting the letters, please note that in the form and we will ensure that they reach your elected officials.
We have a relatively short window to gather signatures on these important letters, and we are requesting that you submit copies of your letters using the above form by Friday, March 6. Jazzy Celindro and I will follow up with you over the next few weeks as we advance towards our goal of letters from every state. In the meantime, please feel free to reach out with any questions.
We appreciate all of you who have already heeded ALA’s call to action with social media posts, personal emails, or conversations with legislators. We are confident that, with our continued efforts, we can maintain support for libraries and the essential federal funding that makes their work possible.
Click on the links below to download the templates in Microsoft Word format.
House Template
Click on the links below to download the templates in Microsoft Word format.
House Template
Thank you!
Megan
Megan Murray Cusick, MLIS
Assistant Director, State Advocacy
American Library Association
50 E. Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611-2795
312-280-2423
800-545-2433 ext. 2423
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