[Libs-Or] Fwd: [PubLib] By May 19! Signatures of a Majority of Senators on Both the LSTA and IAL Letters for FY 2018

[Diedre Conkling]

---------- Forwarded message ---------



Good morning!
It's time for everyone to contact Congress again - TODAY!
If both of your state's U.S. Senators haven't already signed both the LSTA
and IAL letters for FY 2018 (and only CT, HI, MA, MI, NH, NJ, RI, VT and WI
have "doubled" so far), please ask everyone on your lists to use ALA's
Fight for Libraries! webpage to contact their two Senators' offices and ask
them to sign the two separate "Dear Appropriator" letters for LSTA and IAL
on or before May 19.
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/advleg/federallegislation/fight-for-libraries
For history and reasons why this is so important, please read the entire
letter below:
Thank you and your members for the tremendous effort . . . and success . .
. generating support in the House of Representatives for FY 2018 LSTA and
IAL funding in the form of Member signatures on our champions' "Dear
Appropriator" letters. In just 10 days, we succeeded in topping last year's
signer totals by 14% for IAL and a fabulous 64% for LSTA, netting a full
third of all House Members on each letter!   ( See
https://airtable.com/shruwZPRyL5f2CbQS/tbl3v3Ts6KMDMSyJ1 )
Now, we've got until just May 19 - less than 10 business days - to set
Member signature records in the Senate where Sens. Reed and Collins have
circulated a letter backing $186.6 million in FY 2018 funding for LSTA and
Sens. Reed, Grassley and Stabenow have done the same in support of $27
million for IAL. Based on many meetings conducted last week with Senate
staff during National Library Legislative Day, it's clear that we must
secure the signatures of a majority of Senators - 51 Members and preferably
more - on both the LSTA and IAL letters for FY 2018 if these vital programs
are to have the best chance of surviving Congress' likely coming budget
cuts. (See
http://www.districtdispatch.org/2017/04/fight-library-funding-u-s-senate/ )
Once again, OGR is maintaining an up to the minute and sortable online
tracker showing which Senators have signed which letter(s). (See
https://airtable.com/shrbwBqmeYMWSYu2f/tblibE5jSCHVLvFmx/viw6jssU5hI83m3jY )
We've also prepared short, individual LSTA "issue briefs" showing how much
funding flowed through the program to every state in the country over the
past five years. The briefs also provide compelling real examples about how
that money has been productively used in every individual state to make a
real difference in the real world.   (See
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/state-lsta-funding-history )
So, now it's time for all of your members to contact Congress again - TODAY!
If both of your state's U.S. Senators haven't already signed both the LSTA
and IAL letters for FY 2018 (and only CT, HI, MA, MI, NH, NJ, RI, VT and WI
have "doubled" so far), please ask everyone on your lists to use ALA's
Fight for Libraries! webpage to contact their two Senators' offices and ask
them to sign the two separate "Dear Appropriator" letters for LSTA and IAL
on or before May 19.
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/advleg/federallegislation/fight-for-libraries
Then, please also ask them to do anything and everything they can to
encourage their families, friends, customers, contractors, vendors,
employees, casual acquaintances and dog-walkers to do the same!
We set records in the House and I know that, together, we can do it again
in the Senate.  As ALA President Julie Todaro said in a recent email, "We
must!"  Thanks again,
Adam
Adam Eisgrau, Managing Director
Office of Government Relations
American Library Association
Washington Office
202-215-6884






Post to publib at oclc.org
To drop or change your list settings
http://listserv.oclc.org/scripts/wa.exe?REPORT
List archives at
http://listserv.oclc.org/archives/publib.html
-- 
*Diedre Conkling*




*Lincoln County Library DistrictP.O. Box 2027Newport, OR 97365Phone & Fax:
541-265-3066Work email**: **diedre at lincolncolibrarydist.org*
<diedre at lincolncolibrarydist.org>
*Home email: **diedre08 at gmail.com* <diedre08 at gmail.com>

“If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change
your attitude.”―Maya Angelou
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://omls.oregon.gov/pipermail/libs-or/attachments/20170509/21f6a156/attachment.html>