Call to Action                                   March 30, 2017 Good morning Michigan Libraries, At least $210 million in federal library funding is on the budget-cutter's chopping block. Our champions in Congress need your help to save it and the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Everything you need is at ALA's Legislative Action Center now!  You can also visit the District Dispatch for more context. Action is needed by April 3.   Eliminating the IMLS, and the LSTA program, would have devastating impact on statewide library services that are provided by the Library of Michigan. Michigan receives approximately $4.3 million per year in IMLS funding. IMLS/LSTA funds and mandated state matching funds support the Michigan eLibrary (MeL) including databases, eBooks and MeLCat, the statewide library catalog and resource-sharing network. Other programs supported by LSTA funding including early literacy resources and continuing education for librarians such as the Rural Libraries Conference. As detailed in the ALA Washington Office blog, the President of the United States effectively proposed eliminating all federal library funding and closing IMLS - the small, respected agency that administers $183 million of those funds through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). He also asked Congress to wipe out $27 million for Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL), which school libraries use to buy books and other materials for the nation's poorest children. But our library champions in Congress have mobilized to fight back and they need your help to succeed. Members of the U.S. House need to hear from their constituents before the April 3 deadline. Please e-mail or call your Representative in Washington today and ask them to sign both the LSTA and the IAL "Dear Appropriator" letters our champions have circulated, otherwise the powerful Appropriations Committees will not make LSTA and IAL a priority, dramatically increasing the odds that they will be cut or eliminated next year. ALA's Legislative Action Center  has everything you - and five of your friends, patrons, relatives, employees and patrons - need to identify your  Member of Congress and to tell him or her by email, tweet or phone to sign the LSTA and IAL "Dear Appropriator" letters to protect those critical programs in the FY 2018 federal budget. Send an email to your Representatives in Washington. Make a phone call - the system provides a script and the number. This database shows which representatives signed on last year FY17, those that have signed up already for FY18, and those who have not. Check out this handy database. Thank you for taking action, Gail Madziar Executive Director Michigan Library Association   Stay Connected    Michigan Library Association  |  MLA@milibraries.org  |  http://www.milibraries.org 3410 Belle Chase Way, Ste. 100 Lansing, MI 48911 517-394-2774 Copyright © 2015. All Rights Reserved.

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