C&RL News November 2018 580

Gavin Baker is assistant director of government relations 
at ALA’s Washington Office, email: gbaker@alawash.org

W a s h i n g t o n  H o t l i n eGavin Baker

As the 115th Congress draws to a close, 
last chance to advocate for libraries
After the federal elections on November 6 
(remember to vote!), the 115th Congress 
will be in its final weeks before the new 
Congress takes office in January. This 
“lame-duck” session is the last chance for 
Congress to act on bills before they expire, 
making it a critical time for library advo-
cates to contact their members of Congress 
about our active priorities.

Yet again, the past several weeks have 
evidenced how effective and impactful 
library supporters can be when they carry 
our message to the Capitol.

Library funding: On September 28, 
President Trump signed into law an appro-
priations package that included successful 
outcomes for library funding programs in 
the next fiscal year. The Institute of Mu-
seum and Library Services (IMLS) will gain 
$2 million to improve administration and 
research. Library Services and Technology 
Act (LSTA) grants will receive level funding. 
An additional $70 million for Perkins Career 
and Technical Education grants will provide 
more low-interest loans for nontraditional 
learners in schools and libraries. 

Readers with print disabilities: On 
October 9, President Trump signed into 
law the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation 
Act. The legislation, passed by the Senate 
in June, provides a copyright exception to 
allow libraries and other authorized entities 
to make reading materials available across 
international borders to people with print 
disabilities such as visual impairment. ALA 
advocated for the treaty for more than a 
decade.

Copyright in sound recordings: On 
October 11, President Trump signed into 
law the Music Modernization Act. The 
legislation will increase libraries’ ability to 
provide access to and preserve pre-1972 
sound recordings with all of the user and 
library exceptions.

Your advocacy is essential to bringing 
these victories across the finish line, and 
your continued advocacy is still needed on 
these additional priorities:

IMLS reauthorization: On September 
28, legislation to reauthorize IMLS was 
introduced in the House and Senate. The 
Museum and Library Services Act (MLSA) 
would ensure equitable distribution of LSTA 
funds to large and small states, expand 
eligibility for tribal libraries, and support 
disaster readiness. Reauthorizing these 
vital programs would reinforce ALA’s mes-
sage that strong communities need strong 
libraries. The bipartisan bills are S. 3530 
in the Senate and H.R. 6988 in the House. 
ALA hopes they will be voted on during the 
lame duck session.

Federal Depository Library Program 
(FDLP) modernization: The bipartisan 
FDLP Modernization Act was introduced on 
March 15 and approved by the Committee 
on House Administration on April 12. The 
bill, introduced as H.R. 5305, would modern-
ize FDLP and related programs that provide 
public access to government information. 
The committee has been working to prepare 
the bill to be considered on the House floor, 
hopefully before this Congress adjourns.

Please visit ala.org/takeaction today to 
contact your members of Congress in sup-
port of these library priorities. When our 
library community works together, we can 
continue to secure policy that will make 
libraries stronger. 

mailto:gbaker%40alawash.org?subject=
http://ala.org/takeaction