ALA's Henderson Testifies in Favor of Budget

Staff -- Library Journal, 04/26/1999

Carol Henderson, executive director of the American Library Association's Washington Office, testified April 15 before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor-HHS-Education and Related Agencies, stressing the importance of the requested $166.2 million for Library Services and Technology Act programs under the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Given the difficulties of funding, the Subcommittee Chair, Rep. John Porter (R-IL), encouraged advocates of the particular importance this year of contacting Members of Congress to fund areas of their interest, according to ALA's Washington office.

Henderson praised the IMLS, saying that "the synergy at the federal level has been productive in areas that were expected (such as the use of digital technologies to promote greater public accessibility to both library and museum collections) and in unexpected ways (such as illuminating the myriad ways in which museums and libraries were already cooperating at the local level)." She also praised libraries as "very efficient users of federal dollars," though she cautioned that "the specific benefits from library use may show up only years later."