Outreach Librarian, Libby Young, (right) reports on her trip to Washington, D.C. for National Library Legislative Day: On May 2nd and 3rd I joined librarians and library supporters from all 50 states in Washington, DC for National Library Legislative Day. The American Library Association (ALA) sponsors this annual event to empower people who care about libraries to visit their Congressional Representatives and Senators. ALA’s stated goal is “that libraries are consistently, actively and constructively involved in all relevant federal legislative and policy decision-making processes of importance to the library field and in the public interest.”
The first day is all about learning what legislation and policy being considered in Washington this year will impact libraries. It also includes issues that touch on library values like intellectual freedom and accessibility of information to all. This is a great learning day that provides a fascinating look at how things are done (or not done) in Washington! What we learned can be boiled down to three issues or “asks” for us to discuss with our Congress members:
Confirm Dr. Carla Hayden for Librarian of Congress
This issue seems to be going well. She has passed the House and still needs Senate approval.
Support LSTA (Library Services and Technology Act) and IAL (Innovative Approaches to Literacy)
These are the only federal funds that come to libraries (LSTA is for public and academic libraries and is used for things like DISCUS and PASCAL; IAL is the only federal funding for school libraries)
Pass ECPA reform (Electronic Communications Privacy Act)
This includes passing HR 699: The Email Privacy Act, which requires search warrants for acquiring email content and repealing the Cybersecurity Act of 2015 which weakens privacy laws.
The second day is when we actually visit offices on Capitol Hill. The South Carolina group had 10 members from various libraries and geographies around the state. One public librarian from Orangeburg brought her 12 year old son, Keith, who was an articulate booster of programs at his library! We all went to Senators Graham and Scott’s offices, then divided up to meet with our seven Representatives’ offices.
I went to Representatives Gowdy, Duncan and Clyburn’s offices. Congress was on recess so we didn’t meet with any of the representatives this year but we actually prefer to meet with their legislative aids, who do less “politicking” and more listening and note taking. We make sure to thank them for past support (Rep. Gowdy is an ally on ECPA issues, and Rep. Clyburn reached out to the family of Cynthia Hurd, a librarian murdered in the Charleston shootings last summer). We stress how LSTA money is used to get people working (DISCUS career and resume tools, internet access for applying to jobs, public libraries that give civil service tests, etc.), succeeding in school (summer reading programs, tutoring, and educational programming throughout the year), and supporting e-government (book mobiles with mobile hot spots helped people sign up for FEMA help after the flooding in Columbia last fall).
I always make a plug for FASTR (S. 779/ H.R. 1477) which is the Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act. It would ensure that the public will have prompt access to publically funded research. Any article based on tax-funded research and published in a peer-reviewed journal would be made available to the public, online and without cost, no later than 12 months after the article has been published.
I always enjoy being in Washington and the sense of involvement I get by visiting my Congressional offices. I enjoy working with librarians from around the state and hearing all the good work that is being done. Although it can be frustrating to see how little support libraries get in Congress, we have some incremental victories. We know that we are at least having a voice in the priorities set by our Representatives.
And for food, I will just tell you about eating at Declaration Pizza at 804 V. Street, NW in North Shaw. They serve 13 pizzas, named after the original 13 states. Each reflects an iconic food of that state. South Carolina’s (which I had) featured shrimp, NC’s featured BBQ, Massachusetts’ had clams (yuck), etc. In addition, the price of each was the year that state was founded (MA=$16.20 when the Pilgrim’s landed at Plymouth Rock). They bring you a quill to sign your guest check. Below are the SC and NC pizzas.
