POSTED ON BEHALF OF Kristin Murphy, Government Relations Specialist, American Library Association – Washington Office. 202.628.8410, kmurphy@alawash.org
Good news! The U.S. House of Representatives has scheduled a vote on the Museum and Library Services Act (MLSA) for Tuesday. Your phone calls to Congress are especially important now as your representatives will be making a decision on how they plan to vote on this bill. Please call your representative and then distribute this message to your colleagues, listservs and other groups.
Please call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be transferred to your representative’s office. Tell their staffs that passing MLSA is imperative to ensuring libraries can continue providing critical resources and services to their constituents, particularly in this tough economy. Specifically highlighting programs or resources your library provides to the member’s constituents will make your message stronger. A link to the full action alert can be found here.
MLSA will ensure that all library programs under the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), including the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), are authorized, therefore equipping IMLS to lead America’s libraries. This bill received bipartisan support from both Republicans and Democrats when it passed the Senate late week, and it will need the same bipartisan support to pass the House. To access the full text of this bill, click here.
Your calls are urgently needed TODAY! If the House fails to pass this legislation when it is on the floor tomorrow, the whole reauthorization process will have to start over after the first of the year. We cannot let that happen.