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Ask Your U.S. Senators to Sign Library Funding Letters

Appropriations season is heating up in Washington DC. It is imperative that you call your two U.S. Senators by Wednesday, April 24 and ask them to sign two separate "Dear Colleague" letters that will greatly help libraries. Talking points and instructions for the two letters are below.

Support Funding for LSTA in FY 2014

Ask your representative to support funding for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). Here's why:

•LSTA is the primary source of funding for libraries in the federal budget

•LSTA helps many public libraries provide services to users that include, but are not limited to: job searches, résumé building help, digital literacy workshops, access to e-government services, etc.

Your senator can sign a letter indicating their support for LSTA in the FY14 budget, here's how:

Republicans: If your senator is a Republican, ask them to contact Sen. Susan Collins’ (R-ME) to sign on to the LSTA letter.

Democrats: If your senator is a Democrat, ask them contact Sen. Jack Reed’s (D-RI) office to sign the LSTA letter.

Support Funding for the Innovative Approaches to Literacy Competitive Grant

Ask your representative to support Childhood Literacy in FY 2014. Here is why:

•Congress included $28.6 million in the FY12 budget for this competitive grant administered through the U.S. Department of Education to support school libraries and national nonprofit literacy organization working toward childhood literacy

•A minimum of half of this money will go as a competitive grant to low-income school libraries to help update their books and materials.

Ask your representative to sign a letter supporting Childhood Literacy in FY 2014, here's how:

Republicans: If your senator is a Republican, ask them to contact Sen. Chuck Grassley’s (R-IA) office to sign on to this letter

Democrats: If your senator is a Democrat, ask them to contact Sen. Jack Reed’s (D-RI) office to sign on to this letter

Please call today!
Go to http://capwiz.com/ala/callalert/index.tt?alertid=62592326&PROCESS=Call+Now
Enter your zip code into the "Call Now" box to find the number for your senator.

All calls have to be in by April 24.