Executive Summary
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EBD #12.52 2007-2008 TO: ALA Executive Board RE: Report on Washington Office Activities ACTION REQUESTED/INFORMATION/REPORT: For information purposes. No action requested. ACTION REQUESTED BY: No action requested. CONTACT PERSON: Andy Bridges, 202-628-8410, [email protected] DRAFT OF MOTION: None DATE: June 27, 2008 BACKGROUND: See Executive Summary. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY • In the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, OGR is asking the Subcommittee to fund the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) at $214 million and fund the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program at $100 million. o OGR is also following the progress of the FY 2009 Supplemental Spending Bills. The Senate version includes $400 million for the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act. The Act provides revenue, based on timber receipts, to be used for education, roads and various other county services, including libraries, in rural areas. When the Act expired last year, several libraries in Oregon were forced to close. We are monitoring the House version of the bill. o Members of Congress circulated a letter addressed to both the Senate and House Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriation Subcommittees and requests that the Senate and House include President Bush’s request for LSTA and increased funding for the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program for FY 2009. • The Higher Education Act is currently up for reauthorization. Both the House and Senate passed bills last year, which include loan forgiveness for librarians, and are currently negotiating a compromise bill. • On June 4, the House passed the 21st Century High-Performing Public School Facilities Act (H.R 3021). Considering the significant research that demonstrates the correlation between library program development and improved student academic achievement, OGR is working to update the allowable uses of funds in H.R. 3021 to highlight school libraries. • A meaningful victory will be realized when the Farm Bill passes “again.” The version of the Farm Bill passed in May inserted the word “libraries” as eligible entities to apply for the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Distance Learning and Telemedicine program (DLT). Unfortunately, the version that was passed inadvertently omitted another unrelated major section after months of debate during the conferencing on the bill. At this writing, it is expected that there will be another Farm Bill vote in early June. • There are now bills calling for Internet safety education for libraries and schools receiving E-rate discounts. ALA has long supported education as the best tool to promote safe Internet usage for young people. However, additional burdens placed on E-rate participants are not supported. Decisions about Internet safety education and/or blocking technologies are best made at the local level by library and school boards based upon community needs and standards. Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-IN) introduced the e-KIDS Act of 2007 (H.R. 3871) and Rep. Judy ALA Washington Office Report to the Executive Board – June 2008 – Page 2 Biggert introduced the Protecting Our Children Online Act of 2008 (H.R. 6145), both of which ALA has endorsed.. • In April 2008, the Joint Committee on Printing (JCP) tasked the Government Printing Office (GPO) with conducting a study on the conditions of regional depository libraries. As part of that study, GPO requested comments from the library community. On behalf of ALA, OGR submitted a letter to GPO broadly framing the complex issues and highlighting the diversity of concerns, challenges, and ideas within ALA, with respect to the current and future role of the FDLP. June 15 is the next deadline for public response to the GPO report to Congress, which was released on June 2. • OGR has been actively advocating for a reasonable legislative solution in response to orphan works legislation that was recently introduced in both the House (H.R. 5889) and the Senate (S. 2913). Activities include participating in strategy meetings, sending letters to key Congressional members and their staff, and working with a consultant to help inform revisions being made to the bills. • The final report of the Library of Congress Working Group on Section 108 was released in March 2008. ALA continues to analyze the Working Group’s report. • This May, over 400 librarians, friends of libraries, trustees, and business supporters from 49 states participated in National Library Legislative Day (NLLD) 2008. Due to travel cutbacks, people who could not attend participated in a massive Virtual Library Legislative Day organized by state chapters, GODORT, and others. E-mails, calls and faxes were sent to Capitol Hill from across the country expressing support for library appropriations and other issues supported by ALA. • In August 2007, Congress enacted the Protect America Act very quickly as summer recess began. This bill expired on February 16 of this year. In March, the House passed a new bill incorporating parts of the Senate’s FISA Amendments Act of 2007 (S. 2248), and the House’s original RESTORE Act (H.R. 3773). In recent months, ALA has signed on to numerous letters with organizations such as the Center for National Security Studies (CNSS) and the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), as the various iterations of these bills have proceeded through Congress. • ALA, in conjunction with allies in the Campaign for Reader Privacy, which represents booksellers, librarians, publishers, and writers, released an open letter calling on Congress to pass legislation that will restore the safeguards for reader privacy eliminated by the USA PATRIOT Act. In a letter published in Roll Call, the American Booksellers Association, the American Library Association, the Association of American Publishers, and PEN American Center urged approval of the National Security Letters Reform Act (S. 2088 and H.R. 3189). ALA Washington Office Report to the Executive Board – June 2008 – Page 3 • ALA supports the REAL ID Repeal and Identification Security Enhancement Act (H.R. 1117), introduced by Rep. Allen (D-ME), and the Identification and Security Enhancement Act (S.717), introduced by Sen. Akaka (D-HI). At this writing, both bills remain in Committee. • There is renewed debate on several “employment” related bills that would require verification of an individual’s residence status. The New Employee Verification Act (H.R. 5515) is one such bill. ALA is monitoring these proposals closely because of the implications for privacy, the problems inherent to such databases that currently exist, and the implications for libraries and their employees as well as patrons. • On May 11, OITP hosted a meeting for members of COSLA. Gary Nichols, Chair of COSLA, and Linda Lord, Chair of ALA’s E-rate Task Force, chaired the meeting. At this meeting the E-rate program was explored as a potential source of funding for broadband deployment. • OITP has released Regional Library Cooperatives and the Future of Broadband, a report detailing the best practices, successful strategies, and challenges of Regional Library Cooperatives (RLCs) as they help libraries obtain high-speed connectivity. • On May 6-8, state E-rate coordinators from 43 states and territories – that is, staff who provide consulting and coordination services to libraries in a given state – participated in OITP's training workshop held in Chicago. • A May 21-23 OITP workshop brought together librarians, library cooperative managers, network managers, network consultants, and researchers to work together to develop tools and a planning guide to help library leaders and technical staff navigate the broadband landscape. • Alan Inouye and Carrie Lowe, with Emily Sheketoff and Rick Weingarten, participated in a grantees' meeting at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on May 28-30 in Seattle. • OITP is coordinating the activities of a small committee composed of members of the Video Round Table and AASL who are drafting a document to guide librarians and educators in their use of media in the classroom. • OITP has sold more than 3,500 of its Copyright Sliders – an instrument that helps librarians identify works in the public domain. A digital version of the instrument will be launched at Annual. • On April 7, Corey Williams Green joined OGR as an Associate Director. Timothy Vollmer began employment with OITP on May 19 as an Information Technology Policy Analyst. ALA Washington Office Report to the Executive Board – June 2008 – Page 4 APPROPRIATIONS AND EDUCATION REAUTHORIZATIONS Appropriations President Bush released his fiscal year (FY) 2009 budget request on February 4. We are currently waiting for Congress to introduce FY 2009 appropriations bills. In the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, OGR is asking the Subcommittee to fund the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) at $214.432 million and fund the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program at $100 million. In the Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill, ALA is asking the Subcommittee to fund the Government Printing Office at the President’s FY 2009 request of $174.354 million and to adequately fund the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLSBPH) process of switching the talking books and associated playback equipment from four-track cassette tapes to digital (USB) flash memory cartridges. NLSBPH estimates the cost of transition is $76.4 million, over a four-year period, and the Library of Congress received only $12.5 million of the $19.1 million requested in FY 2008. In the Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, OGR is asking the Subcommittee to restore the proposed $4 million cuts to the National Agriculture Library (NAL) and add $1 million to allow NAL to provide improved access to agricultural information and literature. OGR is also following the progress of the FY 2009 Supplemental Spending Bills. The Senate version includes $400 million for the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act.