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To help break down the relevant library issues in this election year, LJ convened a roundtable of experts including John Chrastka of EveryLibrary; Nick Grove of Meridian Library District, ID; Jason Kucsma of Toledo Lucas County Public Library, OH; and Representative Ashley Hudson from the Arkansas House of Representatives. They covered everything from voter engagement strategies for libraries on the ballot to book ban advocacy in challenging districts to engaging the electorate in an important presidential election year.
West Virginia legislators recently advanced a bill that would remove criminal liability protections for public library, museum, or school employees accused of displaying “obscene matter to a minor." Under House Bill 4654, which passed the West Virginia House of Delegates on February 16, in an 85–12 vote mostly along party lines, any adult who knowingly and intentionally displays obscene matter to a minor could be charged with a felony, fined up to $25,000, and face up to five years in prison if convicted.
A Georgia senate bill aimed at detaching the state from the American Library Association (ALA) could send ripples throughout Georgia’s public library system and the state university that trains librarians. Senate Bill 390 would put a firewall between Georgia libraries and ALA. Effective on July 1, 2025 if enacted, it would remove ALA as an accrediting organization within the state and would ban ALA and its affiliates from receiving taxpayer—and even privately donated—funds for the association’s materials, services, or operations.
On January 30, in response to pressure from Gov. Kay Ivey, the Alabama Public Library Service—the agency that advises and administers funds to the state’s 220 public libraries—announced its official decision not to renew its membership with the American Library Association (ALA). But advocates are urged to look beyond the controversy over ALA to the larger issues in play, notably the growing influence that the state’s elected officials have on library freedoms.
The Rural Libraries Endowment, establishedin 2019, has received a substantial boost that is proving to be instrumental in addressing the needs of many rural communities across New Mexico. Originally funded at $1 million, the fund now stands at $28 million, with the addition of $27 million added over four years.
EveryLibrary tracked over 60 local library elections, annual budget votes, and statewide ballot measures that impacted libraries on the Tuesday, November 7, 2023 ballots across nine states. Voters overwhelmingly voted in favor of libraries.
All eyes are on Texas as HB 900, the state’s controversial new book rating law, is slated to take effect September 1, 2023. Signed by Governor Greg Abbott on June 12, the legislation aims to prevent the sale of books deemed “sexually explicit” or “sexually relevant” to school districts by requiring book publishers and vendors to rate individual titles based on content.
House Bill 1315, signed by the governor, regulates “pornographic media exposure” to K–12-aged children and “digital and online resources” provided by vendors to those children. The bill requires a vendor or provider of digital or online resources or databases to have safety policies and technology protection measures that prohibit and prevent a person from sending, receiving, viewing, or downloading content that officials consider “obscene.”
At LJ, we watch the places where the law touches libraries. In recent years those areas of overlap have become unmistakable, as elected officials across the country propose—and pass—bills that would cut funding, prosecute staff, and remove collection oversight by libraries. We’re also looking for good news, though, and some emerging safeguards are promising.
A bill that explicitly prohibits Illinois libraries from banning books is speeding its way toward passage by the General Assembly, and the Illinois Secretary of State said he wants “every librarian in the country to know we have their backs.”
Libraries in Missouri, particularly rural libraries, felt a major blow this week when the state House granted initial approval to slash the roughly $4.5 million in state aid to public libraries from its budget.
Connecticut's Senate Bill 2, “An Act Concerning The Mental, Physical And Emotional Wellness of Children,” would, among many other things, allow every Connecticut municipality to designate a single sanctuary library—a place where patrons are promised access to books banned or challenged elsewhere.
Missouri Secretary of State John R. (Jay) Ashcroft is receiving pushback from library leaders and staff, including the director of Ashcroft’s hometown library, in response to a rule proposed in October 2022 aiming to protect minors from inappropriate material.
Who is in charge of your library? In Kentucky, in 2023, the answer will change. Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of a state Senate bill was unexpectedly overridden in mid-April, enabling local politicians to take control of public library board appointments, and thus spending, and even the continued existence of facilities.
From WDRB: In a sudden about-face, the Kentucky House voted to override Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of Senate Bill 167, giving local political leaders control of public libraries.
On March 28, President Joe Biden released his proposed federal budget for Fiscal Year 2023. The $5.8 trillion budget focuses on reducing the deficit as well as investments in economic growth and job creation. The final FY22 budget was only signed into law on March 11, meaning that the appropriations process began later and deadlines for final FY23 appropriations will be tight.
UPDATE: On December 9, the Association of American Publishers (AAP), filed suit against the Maryland Attorney General seeking to overturn House Bill 518/(SB432). The law requires publishers to offer "electronic literary product" licenses to Maryland libraries “on reasonable terms,” and prohibits publishers from instituting embargo periods during which ebook and electronic audiobook licenses are available for sale to the public but not to libraries.
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) is a $1.9 trillion stimulus package passed by Congress on March 10. It includes targeted funding for various sectors of the economy and government impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, ranging from agriculture to small businesses to education—and libraries. Here are the ins and outs of how new federal funds will reach public libraries and how they can be spent.
Ohio libraries tend to be well funded, both locally and via a solid base of state government support. This year, however, they found themselves forced to advocate for the portion of their funding administered by the Ohio Public Library Fund, which distributes a percentage of the state’s income and sales tax receipts among the state’s 251 public library systems.
On May 28, President Joe Biden released the Administration’s FY22 Budget Request to Congress. Along with major investments in infrastructure and education, the finalized $6 trillion budget—$300 billion of which is new spending requested for the coming fiscal year—requests $265 million for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), including $197 million for the IMLS-administered Library Services and Technology Act.
In a significant show of support, Congress earmarked billions of dollars in recovery funding for academic, public, and school libraries on Wednesday, March 10, as part of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021. The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) received $200 million, the largest single boost in the agency’s 25-year history. The relief package also includes money for library-eligible programs such as the Emergency Education Connectivity Fund through the FCC’s E-rate program.
On the afternoon of December 21, Congress released and passed a $1.4 trillion omnibus spending package. The FY21 budget, along with a $900 billion Emergency COVID Relief spending package, includes a $5 million increase from FY20 for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), including nearly $2 million for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). The bill did not, however, include direct funding for libraries.
On July 2, Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Rep. Andy Levin (D-MI) introduced the bipartisan Library Stabilization Fund Act in both chambers (S.4181 and H.R.7486, respectively). The legislation, introduced with 13 cosponsors on both sides of the aisle in the Senate and 27 in the House, would establish a dedicated $2 billion fund to be administered by IMLS that would address the financial losses incurred in the pandemic shutdown and bolster library services going forward, with priority given to the hardest-hit communities.
On Friday, the House of Representatives voted 208 to 199 for a $3 trillion aid package called the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act. It includes proposals for new stimulus payments to individuals, hazard pay for first responders, rent and mortgage assistance, and more. Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) has said that the Senate would begin talks about the HEROES Act after the Memorial Day recess.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) announced on April 13 that it would begin steps to distribute the first $30 million appropriated to the agency through the federal Coronavirus Aid Package, or CARES Act. The $2 trillion emergency funding legislation, which passed on March 27, included a $50 million package spearheaded by the Washington Office of the American Library Association (ALA) to help ensure that libraries could continue to provide workforce development, connectivity, and digital content during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, as well as to protect core library services in the face of future expected cuts and to help support library organizations.
UPDATE: The $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed by President Trump on March 27, and included $50 million for IMLS. This infusion of funds for digital inclusion projects will help support libraries that have had to pivot quickly in their services, ALA stated.
A bill filed this week in Missouri would give a specially appointed parental board oversight over public library materials deemed inappropriate for minors and proposes legal ramifications for librarians who don’t comply—leaving library leadership, workers, and supporters up in arms.
UPDATE: A similar bill in Tennessee, the Parental Oversight of Public Libraries Act (H.B. 2721), was killed in the House Cities and Counties subcommittee on March 11. The Senate companion bill, S.B. 2896, is expected to die as well.
Under H.R. 1865, IMLS, LSTA, Comprehensive Literary Grants, the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Library of Medicine, and the Library of Congress will all have increased budgets.
Library legislation news has been tentatively positive, according to the panel discussion “173 Days of Congress: An Examination” at the 2019 American Library Association (ALA) Annual Congress in Washington, DC. Representatives from ALA’s Washington Office and the U.S. Copyright Office looked at the successes and challenges libraries have confronted during the first six months of the 116th Congress, and identified a number of upcoming issues that advocates will want to keep an eye on.
There is no such thing as a totally independent library board when the library’s funding stream is controlled by another entity. Libraries will never achieve consistently satisfactory funding levels as long as they are one of many agencies governed and/or solely funded by a larger political unit. When public libraries compete for funds with police, fire, sewers, schools, planning, and assessor’s offices, they lose. The tremendous cuts and closings weathered by public libraries in the UK over the past decade provide a cautionary tale.
On December 19, the House of Representatives passed the Museum and Library Services Act (MLSA) by a margin of 331–28, and it was signed into law on December 31. The bill, also known as S. 3530, reauthorizes the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) through 2025.
The United States Senate indefinitely postponed its vote on the Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act, also known as S. 1010. The bill, introduced in May 2017, proposes to amend title 17 of the United States Code to make the Register of Copyrights a presidential appointee.
After years of nudging, the Congressional Research Service (CRS)—the in-house think tank for the House of Representatives and Senate—is making its records accessible to the public online for the first time.
Legislation to be put forward in January, 2019 proposes a $50 million permanent state fund to provide some $50,000 per year for more than 40 rural community libraries across New Mexico.
In a decision that caught many members of the Oregon library community by surprise, Gov. Kate Brown fired Oregon State Librarian MaryKay Dahlgreen on March 13.
UPDATE: 3/26/18: On Friday, March 23, President Trump signed a $1.3 trillion spending bill for FY18—after first threatening to veto it in an early-morning tweet. The bill will, among other provisions, keep the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and other government-funded culture and education agencies afloat through September.
On March 9 the ALA Washington Office announced the recipients of its annual James Madison Award, given to “individuals or groups who have championed, protected and promoted public access to government information and the public’s right to know at the national level.” However, this year’s choice, U.S. Representatives Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Mike Quigley (D-IL)—recognized for their work as cofounders and cochairs of the bipartisan Congressional Transparency Caucus—has drawn fire because of Issa’s opposition to net neutrality and other issues that, critics say, run counter to ALA’s stated Code of Ethics.
On March 15 the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act (S. 2559) was introduced in Congress, moving the United States closer to implementing the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled. The treaty was adopted in 2013 by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)—the United Nations international copyright arm—at an international diplomatic conference in Marrakesh, and has since been ratified by 36 countries.
Today, access to born-digital federal government information is relatively easy. Most of it is even available for free. But there are few legal guarantees to ensure that the information published today will be available tomorrow. Now, the GPO Reform Act of 2018 about to be introduced in Congress, pitched as a modernization of the Government Publishing Office (GPO) and the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), will actually endanger long-term free public access to government information.
With 2018 under way, the work to ensure key funding at the federal level steps up. On December 21, 2017, Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), along with Susan Collins (R-ME), Thad Cochran (R-MS), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), introduced the bipartisan Museum and Library Services Act (MLSA) of 2017. The bill, essentially a reauthorization of the programs administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, reasserts the value of libraries and museums in the cultural fabric and creates an opportunity for political leaders to put a stake in the ground for these vital institutions.
The Museum and Library Services Act of 2017 was introduced in the Senate on December 21 by Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), along with Susan Collins (R-ME), Thad Cochran (R-MS), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). The bipartisan bill, S. 2271, reauthorizes the core programs administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS): the Museum Services Act and the Library Services Technology Act (LSTA), which provides more than $183 million in funding through the Grants to States program; National Leadership Grants for Libraries; the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program; and Native American Library Services. The agency has been a source of support for public, academic, research, special, and tribal libraries, as well as some 35,000 museums.
As Missouri continues its two-year clash with its two largest cities over minimum wage regulations, Kansas City Public Library (KCPL) director R. Crosby Kemper III has taken matters into his own hands.
On October 3 the American Library Association (ALA) launched the ALA Policy Corps, an initiative that will bring together a core group of library practitioners from across the field and help them develop a deep expertise in public policy issues.
When President Donald Trump released his preliminary budget proposal for FY18 in March, revealing major cuts to government spending that would have eliminated support for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the library community took the threat as a call to arms. The dynamic response paid off on September 14, when the full House of Representatives voted to approve a spending package, H.R. 3354, that would preserve federal funding for IMLS at FY17 levels, as well as all funding for its programs under the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and the Department of Education’s Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) Program.
U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) director Davita Vance-Cooks has asked the Depository Library Council (DLC) to recommend changes to Chapter 19 of Title 44 of the U.S. Code, a request that has some members of the government information community concerned and others encouraged. Chapter 19 codifies GPO’s Federal Deposit Library Program (FDLP) into law, guaranteeing that the government will provide its information for free to the general public, and has not been significantly revised since the early 1990s.
Looking beyond the headlines to examine public policy issues that affect the American Library Association (ALA), panelists at the ALA Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) session “Report from the Swamp: Policy Developments from Washington” discussed the need for ongoing vigilance—and also promising avenues for advocacy.
On June 5, Kathi Kromer stepped into the role of associate executive director of the American Library Association (ALA)’s Washington Office, succeeding Emily Sheketoff, who led the Washington Office for more than 17 years and retired on May 15.
A bill empowering the president to appoint the next Register of Copyrights, which would effectively remove jurisdiction over the position from the Librarian of Congress, sailed through the House of Representatives 378–48 on April 26 and will now continue to the Senate. The Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act, also known as HR 1695, was introduced on March 23, and would make the Register—who has traditionally been appointed by the Librarian of Congress—a presidential appointment, with the advice and consent of the senate.
A bill that would allow each Nevada library to decide for itself whether to bar firearms is due to be taken up by the Nevada Assembly, after winning passage through the Senate. Weapons would be prohibited from public library property, unless the owner has written permission from the governing board of the library.
November's presidential election led to a surprising result for many. Even among those who voted for the current president-elect, a lot of people did not actually expect him to prevail over a former senator and secretary of state. And almost immediately, everyone from regular people to media pundits were chiming in on what the election will mean for the country.
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has been making some interesting decisions that could affect libraries. A few weeks ago, it was liability for hyperlinking; this week it’s about ebooks and lending.
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the chief judicial authority of the European Union, on September 8 issued a landmark ruling in a case called GS Media v. Sanoma (C-160/15), concerning hyperlinking and potential copyright infringement. This interesting case expands upon a theme that has been present in Europe for some time—a copyright crackdown on linking, news snippets, and other content.
The Library of Congress (LC) sparked debate recently when it announced that it would no longer use the term illegal aliens as a subject heading. The library maintains that the phrase has become “pejorative,” a sentiment echoed by social justice projects such as Race Forward’s Drop the I-Word campaign. However, Republican lawmakers who introduced legislation to force the library to keep the term argue that the LC’s subject headings (LCSH) should be consistent with U.S. Code.
The Massachusetts Center for the Book was re-funded on July 30 thanks to emergency sessions of the state House and Senate, after Governor Charlie Baker had completely defunded the Center and slashed budgets for several other educational and cultural organizations. Funding to the Massachusetts Cultural Center was also restored, as was the Local Aid to Public Libraries line item.
Thanks to the joint efforts of a student group and university librarians at Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, with a push from the American Library Association (ALA), the Library of Congress (LC) announced on March 22 that it would remove the term “Illegal alien” from the LC Subject Heading (LCSH) system, replacing it with “Noncitizen” and, to describe the act of residing without authorization, “Unauthorized immigration.”
From the moment the North Carolina General Assembly passed the Public Facilities Privacy and Security act, also known as HB2, reaction was forceful and articulate. Educators, librarians, and library leaders from public, academic, and school libraries and library organizations across the country, for whom inclusivity is a crucial part of their institutions’ mission, added their voices criticizing the bill’s passage and supporting those it affects.
North Carolina’s adoption of the so-called “bathroom bill” (House Bill 2, also known as the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act) on March 23 has been rightly denounced for building bias and discrimination into state law and barring cities from extending protections for transgender individuals. It should go without saying that wholesale bigotry against members of a group is unacceptable and unconstitutional. This legislation is a travesty and an assault on our civil liberties.
Kansas library professionals, forced to mobilize quickly and using social media to rally support and spread their message, convinced lawmakers to remove language from a fast-tracked tax bill that they said threatened the survival of the state’s seven regional systems and, in turn, promised a trickle-down reduction in services for public libraries.
On Monday, February 29, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed into law a bill that would authorize the enlistment of outside parties—collection agencies, or, in some cases, the police—to help recover late fees, fines, and unreturned materials for that state’s libraries, a problem that reportedly cost $3.5 million in the last year alone.
In Michigan, a new law that if signed by the governor will restrict the sharing of ballot information prior to voting has alarmed librarians and allies, who are calling for action. In a surprising last-minute vote on December 16 in Lansing, the Michigan house and senate acted in concert to send several bills to Gov. Rick Snyder (R-MI). Among them was an amended version of Senate Bill 571, a finance reform measure, which included new language prohibiting libraries and other public resources from transmitting information about local ballot initiatives for 60 days prior to an election.
Librarians have MUCH to be proud of in the new Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The long-awaited rewrite of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, most recently also known as No Child Left Behind) sailed though both the Senate and House to arrive in front of President Obama, making it one of the few signs of functional bipartisanship in a rough year for getting stuff done on the hill. As the president signed ESSA into law on December 10, he referred to its arrival as “a Christmas miracle.”
Difficult budget decisions, including probable cuts, await libraries throughout Missouri after the legislature drastically slashed state aid in two critical areas as part of a $26 billion 2016 spending plan adopted by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. Jay Nixon.
A group of technology companies, trade associations, and civil society organizations have joined forces to form Re:Create, a national coalition to advocate for balanced copyright policy. In the wake of recent proposals to amend the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, as well as constant advances in the field of knowledge creation, coalition members are calling for responsive copyright law that balances the interests of those who create information and products with those of users and innovators, providing robust exceptions as well as limitations to copyright law in order that it not limit new uses and technologies.
At Illinois’s 99th General Assembly on February 29, State Representative Peter Breen (R-District 48) introduced House Bill 2689, which would create the Internet Screening in Public Libraries Act (ISPLA). The act provides that every public library in the state of Illinois must have a “technology protection measure,” such as filtering software, in place on all public computers “to prevent the display on a public computer of any visual depictions that are obscene, child pornography, or harmful to minors.” The library may disable the technology on request for an adult engaged in legitimate research. ISPLA contains no definition of “legitimate research.”
In a significant victory for supporters of Net Neutrality, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today reclassified broadband Internet as a public utility, and established a new Open Internet Order that applies to both fixed and mobile broadband. The new Open Internet Order includes three “bright line” rules, specifically banning broadband providers from blocking access to legal content, applications, and services; impairing access to content, applications, and services; and prioritizing Internet traffic in exchange for “consideration of any kind.”
On January 15, 2015, Susan H. Hildreth completed her four-year term as director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Under her leadership, IMLS provided nearly $1 billion in support to libraries and museums, with a strong emphasis on early learning, STEM-related projects, and connectivity in libraries across the country. Prior to her tenure at IMLS, Hildreth served as Seattle City Librarian, California State Librarian, and San Francisco City Librarian. On March 1, she will return to California, her “adopted home state,” to serve as executive director of three linked organizations: the Peninsula Library System, a consortium of public and community college libraries in San Mateo; the Pacific Library Partnership, a California Library Services Act system; and Califa, a nonprofit membership cooperative that provides services and programs to libraries throughout California.
Bringing apparent closure to a months-long fight for control of the Queens Library (QL) Board of Trustees, Judge Frederic Block of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York on Wednesday November 26 dismissed Arrington et al v. Katz, a lawsuit filed in August by six former QL trustees against Queens Borough President (QBP) Melinda Katz and New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
California has become the first state to mandate open access for the products of some taxpayer-funded research. On September 29 Governor Jerry Brown signed into law the California Taxpayer Access to Publicly Funded Research Act, coauthored by Assemblyman Brian Nestande (R–Palm Desert) and Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D–Los Angeles). AB 609, as the bill is known, ensures that those who stand to benefit most from state-funded research, such as healthcare providers, students and professors, biotech professionals, and anyone with an interest in the field, will have access to current research results free of charge. Beginning January 1, 2015, the products of more than $200 million in annual research paid for by California taxpayers will be freely available—with some restrictions: AB 609 applies only to research funded by the Department of Public Health.
In the wake of accusations that suspended Queens Library (QL) president and CEO Thomas W. Galante mishandled library funds, Council Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer (D–Queens) proposed legislation on October 21 that would require all three of New York’s public library systems to publicly disclose how their money is spent.
On October 17 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta unanimously reversed the District Court’s ruling on the Publishers v. Georgia State University (GSU) Fair Use Case.
Susan H. Hildreth was appointed director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) by President Barack Obama on January 19, 2011. Her nomination had been confirmed by the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent on December 22, 2010. Prior to joining IMLS, Hildreth served as Seattle city librarian, California state librarian, and San Francisco city librarian, as well as president of the Public Library Association in 2006. Under her leadership, IMLS made $857,241,000 in total grants to libraries and museums. As Hildreth’s four-year term draws to a close, she shares with LJ some of what she learned at the head of the institute and what she hopes the library community will build on in the future.
Thomas W. Galante, the embattled president and CEO of the Queens Library in New York, on the evening of September 11 was placed on indefinite, paid administrative leave by the library’s recently reorganized board, following months of negative local news coverage regarding his $392,000 salary, his consulting work, library renovation projects that included his office, and an FBI investigation regarding QL’s procedures for awarding construction contracts.
As controversies go, it would have been difficult to see this one coming. In tiny Mechanicsburg, PA, a pilot seed library in existence for all of four months is now the epicenter of a national discussion among seed traders, growers of organic food, and other agriculture experts after state officials wrote a list of regulations for the fledgling program.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on August 12 appointed Jukay Hsu, founder of the community development organization Coalition for Queens (C4Q), to the Queens Borough Public Library (QL) Board of Trustees. The appointment fills one of eight positions left vacant since July 23, when de Blasio dismissed two of the library’s trustees and Queens Borough President (QBP) Melinda Katz dismissed six.
South Carolina’s public library directors, confident they have the necessary votes in the state legislature locked up, plan to press ahead with efforts to see a library trespass bill adopted into law, even after a recent veto by Gov. Nikki Haley scuttled their hopes, at least temporarily.
Lobbying for libraries can be a painfully earnest affair. But not so in New York State, where the New York Library Association (NYLA) adopted a playful new strategy to reach legislators and their staffs where they may be at their most receptive—relaxing with a drink after work. NYLA didn’t break the rules by buying beverages for lawmakers…it simply provided a coaster for them.
In northern Kentucky this spring, the more things change the more they stay the same for the embattled Campbell (CCPL) and Kenton County Public Libraries (KCPL). After the state General Assembly came close, but ultimately failed to deliver a legislative solution to their longstanding legal woes, the library systems have little recourse except to wait for an appeals court decision that will help determine how they—and potentially the majority of Kentucky libraries—can raise tax revenue.
On April 1, House Budget Committee chair Paul Ryan (R-WI) released his budget proposal for the fiscal year 2015. It would cut five trillion dollars from federal balance sheets in the next decade by making significant cuts to spending on initiatives like Medicare and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, more commonly known as food stamps. Among librarians, though, the most controversial cost-saving measure proposed in the Ryan budget might be its elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) entirely, cutting millions in grants to libraries around the country.
President Barack Obama’s $3.9 trillion budget for fiscal year 2015 proposes slight cuts in federal library spending, strongly promotes a variety of early education programs, and funds an ongoing mission to connect students to high-speed Internet in their schools and libraries.
In the wake of a January court ruling that struck down the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) standards for ensuring that Internet traffic is delivered without bias—a standard industry watchers refer to as ‘net neutrality’—the agency has issued a new proposal outlining a new set of rules to ensure Internet users have uncensored access to the full content of the Internet. Some experts, though, don’t think these new rules will be any more enforceable than those overturned earlier this year.
Who would have thought that the United States Congress—after a year filled with gridlock and subsequent political inertia—would end up giving the American people a gift just before Christmas week? As of last week, comprehensive legislation finalizing the federal budget for fiscal year 2014 received final passage from both the Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. While generally modest in scope, the mere fact that a piece of fiscal legislation garnered the support of key Democrats and Republicans in Congress represents a significant achievement.
A great deal of my professional life is spent trying to make a body of law from the analog age, the 1976 Copyright Act, fit into the digital world. It is a difficult task, but today I want to discuss a different body of law from the same era—the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), aka the Buckley amendment—and how it can fit with the new activities we are engaged in in the online age.
After late night wrangling failed to produce a short term spending bill that could pass both the Senate and House of Representatives, the U.S. federal government has shut down for the first time in nearly two decades. As of this morning, federal agencies that support the mission of libraries around the country -- from the Institute for Museum and Library Sciences to the Library of Congress have found themselves forced to close their doors and furlough the majority of their staffers.
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) is offering a library amendment to the immigration bill that the Senate is considering this week. The amendment, #1223, would make public libraries eligible for funding for English language instruction and civics education, and would also add Susan Hildreth, the director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to the Task Force on New Americans. The American Library Association (ALA) is asking its members to call their Senators in support of Reed’s amendment.
On May 9, President Obama signed an open data executive order and released an open data policy. Only a couple of weeks later, on May 22, Data.gov responded by launching a new data catalog on an open source data management system called CKAN, which, the site says, will enable the central implementation of the Open Data Policy, as it will harvest the data inventories that federal agencies will be creating under the directive. LJ caught up with members of the library and data-driven research communities to see what this may mean for their missions.
Libraries have no natural predators. Believe me. Having worked in partisan politics and lobbied on contentious issues, I know what it means to have opponents. Since I started lobbying for libraries no one has called me names, hung up on me, or slammed a door in my face.
A bill which would require California-funded research to be deposited in open access repositories passed the state’s Assembly Accountability and Administrative Review Committee on May 1.
In spite of the gridlock associated with the U.S. Congress, state legislatures across America are presently hard at work. Like many, my home state of Maryland is currently grappling with a series of complex and controversial issues, many of which impact libraries.
According to the Sunlight Foundation, on March 20 the House Oversight and Government Reform committee green-lighted a bill that would make public presidential library donation records. The bill would require disclosure of all donations over $200, whereas currently no donations are required to be disclosed.
The Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act (FASTR) was introduced on February 14 in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. If passed, FASTR would require government agencies with annual extramural research expenditures of more than $100 million make electronic manuscripts of peer-reviewed journal articles based on their research freely available on the Internet within six months of publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
If you work in a library, sell to a library, support a library, or have ever walked into a library, your life has been impacted by policymakers who often have no idea who you are or what you do for the community. Perhaps more important, they will continue to have no idea unless you tell them.
On Jan. 3, Representative Rush Holt (D-NJ) reintroduced H.R. 113, the Workforce Investment through Local Libraries (WILL) Act. The bill, if passed, would include libraries in the Workforce Investment Act.
The American Library Association (ALA) and the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) today teamed up with 17 other associations, retailers, and charities to launch a new coalition called the Owners’ Rights Initiative (ORI). ORI is an “informal alliance of stakeholders” that will defend the first sale doctrine, which allows libraries to lend books and other materials, as well as individual owners to resell them.
