FYI ________________________________ From: Don Wood <dwood@ala.org> Sent: Thursday, January 4, 2018 11:38 AM Subject: Help Us Rally Support for Museum and Library Services Act of 2017 Good morning! At the end of 2017, Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), Susan Collins (R-ME), Thad Cochran (R-MS), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced the Museum and Library Services Act of 2017<https://www.reed.senate.gov/news/releases/us-senators-seek-to-enhance-support-for-americas-libraries-and-museums>. The 2017 MLSA (S. 2271) reauthorizes the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), showing congressional support for the federal agency. IMLS administers funding through the Library Services Technology Act (LSTA), the only federal program that exclusively covers services and funding for libraries. LSTA provides more than $183 million for libraries through the Grants to States program, the National Leadership Grants for Libraries, the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program, and Native American Library Services. With the FY 2019 budget cycle looming and the FY 2018 decisions yet to be finalized by Congress, having MLSA reauthorized will send a strong signal to the Appropriations Committees. An agency lacking an authorization risks becoming a target for elimination by “budget hawks” in Congress, and the authorization for IMLS and LSTA expired in 2016. This week, please help us rally support for MLSA. Contact your Senators<ala.org/takeaction> and urge them to show support for libraries by becoming a cosponsor of S. 2271. Tell them how your library supports the constituents of their state, and tell them how LSTA funds enable your library to offer valuable services to your community. Need more information? Check out the most recent District Dispatch<http://www.districtdispatch.org/2017/12/senators-introduce-museum-library-services-act/> post or read up on the history of MLSA<http://www.districtdispatch.org/2017/10/museum-and-library-services-act-history/>. Best, Lisa Lindle Manager, Grassroots and Advocacy Outreach American Library Association Washington Office 1615 New Hampshire Ave., N.W., 1st Floor Washington, D.C. 20009-2520 202-628-8410