ALA 2010: Library Advocacy Day on the Hill: WVLA Members Attending June 29th
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Hali Taylor, Kathy Berkley, Rep. Capito, Linda Blake, Jane Levitan, Judy Rule, Deborah Musser, Ann Henriksson, Betty Gunnoe, and Steve Christo. |
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| Members at the Rally for Libraries.In the photo, you can see Rik Rekowski, Judy Rule, Jane Levitan, Hali Taylor and others who are visible but partially obstructed including Deborah Musser and Linda Blake, etc. |
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| Judy Rule and Deborah Musser |
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| Rik Rekowski, Kathy Berkley, Judy Rule and Steve Christo |
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| West Virginia's sign |
| Report from Linda Blake, WVWPA/ACRL |
| As your chapter legislative representative for West Virginia, I visited our Senators and Representatives during the American Library Association's Library Advocacy Day on June 29 in Washington. Our delegation consisted of four public librarians, four academic librarians, and one West Virginia University professor. Visits on the Senate side of the hill were scheduled in the morning before the ALA advocacy rally at 11:00, and then visits to our representatives in the afternoon. The first visit was with Senator Byrd's office. Since it was just days after his death, we expressed our condolences in the visitors' book. The Washington Post published an article about what will happen to the contents of Senator's Byrd's office. One person with us commented that we were among the last to see his office intact, replete with memorabilia floor to ceiling. The ALA Washington Office provides succinct overviews of issues facing libraries, so we used these to prepare for our visits. Each member of our delegation had thought about specific stories to highlight the need for supported legislation. The public librarians spoke about the need for support for broadband and LSTA funding. They gave specific examples of how the lack of high speed internet had affected services and how LSTA funding supports programming. The academic librarians focused on access to information issues and funding for the Federal Depository Library Program. All of us stressed the research showing the need for school librarians in the academic success of students. This fact was not shown in the No Child Left Behind legislation, so the removal of school librarian positions has increased since its enactment. At Senator Rockefeller's office, we talked with Barbara Pryor, his expert on education issues. As usual, she was well-informed and expressed Senator Rockefeller's support for issues affecting libraries. She was also frank about what "the boss," as she calls Senator Rockefeller could do as chair of the Commerce Committee. In the four years I have been making these visits, it has been rare to actually meet with legislators rather than one of their representatives. We were lucky to get to visit, and have our photos taken with, both Rep. Shelley Moore Capito and Rep. Nick Rahall during our afternoon stops. I spoke with our representatives as appropriate about this legislation: Online access to the Congressional Research Service rather than having to ask for a publication; H.R. 3762 CRS Accessibility Act H.R. 801 which aims to reverse the ruling regarding access to NIH-funded research S.1373/H.R.5037 the Federal Research Public Access Act of 2009 The Library Advocacy Day this year took the place of ALA's annual National Library Legislative Day (NLLD). Every year at NLLD, ACRL sponsors a luncheon to help the academic community understand the complex issues affecting academic libraries. For more detailed information, please read the ACRL's legislative agenda. I recommend that each of you consider participating in your state and federal legislative days. It is an empowering experience in which you get to see democracy at work. |
