Federal Legislation Critical to Future of Libraries

ADVOCACY URGENTLY NEEDED: House considering two amendments critical to the future of libraries

This week, the House of Representatives will consider two amendments to the FY2011 Continuing Resolution that are critical to libraries – one that would eliminate all Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) funding including Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funding and another that would halt all funding for Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) orders seeking libraries and bookstore records of U.S. citizens.

E-mail via Capwiz or call your representative at (202) 224-3121 today and tell him or her to oppose Amendment #35 to the Continuing Resolution!

Amendment #35, submitted by U.S. Rep. Scott Garret (R-NJ), seeks to zero out the Institute of Museum and Library Services, eliminating all federal funding specifically for libraries.

Message to Your Representative:

• Libraries are essential to every community, and federal funding is critical for ensuring library resources and services remain available to their constituents.
• LSTA supports all kinds of libraries including school, academic, and public libraries.
• Public libraries are the primary source of no-fee access to the Internet and are active in assisting the public with online job searches, e-government services, and lifelong learning.

E-mail via Capwiz or call your representative at (202) 224-3121 today and tell him or her to support Conyers’ amendment to the Continuing Resolution!

This amendment, sponsored by U.S. Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), would halt all funding for FISA orders seeking libraries and bookstore records of U.S. citizens. Currently, this vote is scheduled for this Thursday, February 17.

Message to Your Representative:

• Vote YES on the Conyers amendment to the FY2011 Continuing Resolution to halt funding for Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) orders that would seek library and bookstore records of U.S. citizens;
• The Conyers amendment seeks to protect individual privacy and personal reading records from inappropriate access by law enforcement;
• Like previous reader privacy bills, this amendment has bipartisan support;
• Law enforcement access to the reading habits of individuals should be held to a higher legal standard in order to protect civil liberties and the right to read and access information.

In the weeks to come, extending your advocacy efforts to your senators as well as continuing to reach out to your representatives will be vitally important to protecting the future of libraries. Questions as well as reports and feedback from your calls and e-mails are welcomed. Please contact Kristin Murphy or Lynne Bradley at the ALA Office of Government Relations, Washington Office

State Superintendent Tony Evers Urges Caution on Budget Adjustment Bill

Saying, "We need to make tough decisions, but we must be careful not to abandon fairness and a sense of decency in the name of boldness," State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers urged caution in a letter to the co-chairs of the legislature's Joint Finance Committee. See complete text of the letter...

Natl Library Legislative Day Stipend to be Awarded

The White House Conference on Library and Information Services Taskforce (WHCLIST) and the ALA Washington Office are calling for nominations for the 2011 WHCLIST Award. Each year, the award is granted to a non-librarian participant in National Library Legislative Day (NLLD). The winner receives a stipend of $300 and two free nights at the NLLD hotel). This year, NLLD will be held on May 9 and 10 in Washington, D.C.

WHCLIST has been an effective force in library advocacy nationally, statewide and locally since the White House Conferences on Library and Information Services in 1979 and 1991. WHCLIST has provided its assets to the ALA Washington Office to transmit its spirit of dedicated, passionate library support to a new generation of advocates. Both ALA and WHCLIST are committed to ensuring the American people get the best library services possible.

The criteria for the WHCLIST Award are:

• The recipient should be a library supporter (trustee, friend, general supporter) and not a professional librarian.
• Recipient should be a first-time attendee of NLLD.

Representatives of WHCLIST and the ALA Washington office will choose the recipient. The ALA Washington Office will contact the recipient’s senators and representatives to announce the award. The winner of the WHCLIST Award will be announced at NLLD.

Application materials are due April 1, 2011.

To apply for the WHCLIST award, please submit a completed NLLD registration form; a letter explaining why you should receive the award; and a letter of reference from a library director, school librarian, library board chair, Friend’s group chair, or other library representative to:

Kristin Murphy

Government Relations Specialist

American Library Association

1615 New Hampshire Ave., NW

First Floor

Washington, DC 20009

202-628-8419 (fax)

kmurphy@alawash.org

Note: Applicants must register for NLLD and pay all associated costs. Applicants must make their own travel arrangements. The winner will be reimbursed for two free nights in the NLLD hotel in D.C and receive the $300 stipend to defray the costs of attending the event. The winner will be notified by April 7, 2011.

Economic Policy Institute Releases Report on Public Employee Compensation in Wisconsin

On February 11, 2011, the Washington, D.C.-based Economic Policy Institute released a briefing paper entitled, "Are Wisconsin Public Employees Over-Compensated?" The short answer: No. The report conclusion states, "Controlling for education, experience, hours of work, organizational size, gender, race, ethnicity, citizenship, and disability, both state and local public employees earn lower wages and receive less in compensation (including all benefits) than comparable private sector employees.

The report is one of a series of reports examining wages and total compensation for public employees.

DOA Declines Federal Grant to Expand Broadband Fiber to Schools and Libraries

On February 11, Michael Huebsch, Secretary of the Department of Administration, announced in a memo to TEACH customers on which WLA was copied, that the DOA would be declining the $23 million federal Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grant intended to expand broadband fiber to Wisconsin schools and libraries.

Huebsch wrote, "Following extensive examination of complex technical issues, and review of multiple alternatives, DOA, the BCN (BadgerNet Converged Network) vendors and the NTIA (National Telecommunications and Information Administration) have exhausted all practical options. Accordingly, the BTOP grant cannot be implemented and DOA will be declining the award. Despite declining the grant, the DOA is happy to report that it will be immediately moving ahead with new BCN pricing and a new 5 year BCN contract extension which will allow DOA to meet its TEACH customers bandwidth needs."

DPI officials estimate that, if the contract extension is successfully negotiated, schools and libraries may be able to receive bandwidth increases similar to what was expected as a result of the failed federal grant. However, the loss of the grant is still regrettable because it means finite future capacity for these important institutions and their communities; copper wire can only provide so much bandwidth. In addition, libraries that were counting on the federal grant to pay for new routers to handle the increased bandwidth will have to seek new funding to cover those costs.

Budget Adjustment Bill to Include Major Changes for Public Employees

On Thursday, February 10, Governor Scott Walker released details of his budget adjustment proposal for the current biennium, calling for limits on collective bargaining for most public employees, at the same time requiring them to contribute 50% of their annual pension contributions (roughly 5.8% of salary) and pay at least 12.6% of the average cost of their health insurance premiums. In addition, the proposal would modify pension calculations for elected officials to be the same as for teachers and call for a report on possible changes to the Wisconsin Retirement System and state health insurance plans. The governor also proposes to repeal collective bargaining authority of Medicaid home health care workers, family child care workers, employees of UW Hospitals and Clinics and UW faculty and academic staff.

For a more detailed summary of the proposed budget adjustment bill, see the Wheeler Report.

ICMA Releases Report on Public Library Innovations

The International City/County Management Association (ICMA) has just released a report entitled "Maximize the Potential of Your Public Library" as part of its Public Library Innovations Project, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The report details the results of nine grant projects that connected local public libraries with other local government and community partners. The report describes six themes that emerged from the grant projects:

1. Library and local government leaders need to connect on community priorities.
2. Building partnerships is the key to innovation.
3. Leadership happens at all levels of an organization.
4. Successful partnerships require commitment to the effort.
5. Innovation occurs in communities of all sizes.
6. Not every effort will be successful.

The report suggests that "when libraries are actively involved in important and strategic issues, local governments have more assets and capabilities to address community concerns."

Happy 120th Birthday, WLA!

Today marks the 120th anniversary of the founding of the Wisconsin Library Association. On February 11, 1891, a group of individuals gathered in the office of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction for the purpose of establishing a state library association. At that meeting, a constitution was adopted and officers were elected. They included K. A. Linderfelt, president; R. G.Thwaites, vice-president; and F. A. Hutchins, secretary-treasurer.

See:

http://heritage.wisconsinlibraries.org/2011/01/wla-is-one-twenty-in-twenty-on.html   

Also see: http://heritage.wisconsinlibraries.org/ for other recent posts to the Wisconsin Library Heritage Center website.

-- Larry T. Nix, Chair, Wisconsin Library Heritage Center Steering Committee and Library History Buff

2011 Governor's Archives Awards Nominations Accepted Through April 1

Nominations for the 2011 Governor’s Archives Awards are being accepted by the Wisconsin Historical Records Advisory Board (WHRAB) and the Wisconsin Historical Society through Friday, April 1^st. The three awards recognize archival achievement, innovation, and advocacy work with historic documents. These awards honor individuals, organizations, and formal programs that make distinctive contributions to historical records preservation and access. Award winners will be announced in June and will be formally presented an award during Archives Month in October 2011. Last year’s award winners include the La Crosse Public Library Archives Department; UW Forest and Wildlife Ecology Lab in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Science Services and Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine; and Susan Braden of the Hedberg Public Library. For more information, including guidelines and printable nomination forms, visit our website at: http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/libraryarchives/whrab/about_award.asp, or contact Kim Pittman at kim.pittman@wisconsinhistory.org.

--Russell Horton, Chair, WLA's Wisconsin Genealogy & Local History Round Table

Lac du Flambeau Libraries Awarded ALA Loleta D. Fyan Grant

Mary Mann and Terry O’Connor, in partnership with the Lac du Flambeau Public Library, have been awarded the 2011 Loleta D. Fyan Grant for a proposal entitled “Revitalizing Libraries in Indian Country: The Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe Research Center.” The project team proposed to create a research space located within the Lac du Flambeau Public Library that will provide the most extensive, diverse and up-to-date multimedia sources on local, regional and national Native American culture, both past and present. Read more on the Wisconsin Valley Library Service Digital Lites blog.