oct08c.indd


W. Alston Roberts III W a s h i n g t o n  H o t l i n e  

Pennsylvania state librarian delivers 
testimony before Congress 
On September 10, Mary Clare Zales, Penn­
sylvania state librarian, appeared before the 
House Education and Labor Subcommittee on 
Healthy Families and Communities, deliver­
ing a strong message on the signifi cant role 
that libraries play in American communities 
in the 21st century. 

As the Pennsylvania State Librarian and 
the Deputy Secretary for Libraries, Zales 
lead the development of library services in 
Pennsylvania and manages the State Library 
of Pennsylvania, one of four major research 
libraries in the state that has recently complet­
ed a refocus of its mission, placing emphasis 
on its historic collections and becoming the 
destination library for Pennsylvania­related 
materials and resources. Working most re­
cently with various Commonwealth agencies 
and stakeholders, Pennsylvania completed 
the construction of a Rare Collections Library 
preserving thousands of Commonwealth 
and national treasures. Among them is the 
422­volume Assembly Collection purchased 
in 1745 by Ben Franklin and Franklin’s 1754 
Pennsylvania Gazette, in which he describes 
his “Key and Kite Experiment.” 

Zales was joined by several other accom­
plished witnesses, including Anne­Imelda M. 
Radice, director of the Institute of Museum 
and Library Services; Suzanne LeBlanc, ex­
ecutive director of the Long Island Children’s 
Museum; fellow librarian Anna Nunez, execu­
tive director of the Arizona Health Science 
Library; and Eric Jolly, president of the Sci­
ence Museum of Minnesota. 

Zales’s testimony highlighted the variety of 
services that libraries provide to their patrons 
across the nation. Examples of these services 
included youth literacy programs, e­government 
services, programs for non­English speakers, 
information literacy training, and career devel­

W. Alston Roberts III is communications director at ALA’s 
Washington Offi  ce, e-mail: abridges@alawash.org 

opment assistance. “Libraries are reaching new 
populations in new ways,” Zales said. “Their 
presence in the community is growing.” 

The current economic slowdown has pro­
duced a swell of activity for libraries. A surge 
in patron use has provided another example 
of the invaluable presence of libraries in com­
munities nationwide. “The public library plays 
an even more important role as Americans 
are facing tough economic times,” said Zales. 
“Library usage is up ten percent from the last 
economic downturn in 2001.” 

Zales added, “The funding invested in 
public libraries is a wise and fruitful invest­
ment as all aspects of the community benefi t. 
Libraries support the development and care of 
young children and families, support formal 
education and strengthen local economies. 
Libraries add richness and quality to the life 
of adults, seniors and special populations.” 

Zales also reported on programs taking 
place in Pennsylvania, noting that her home 
state is proud to participate in the national 
Family Place Program, which builds on the 
role of the library as the core of the commu­
nity. Family Place Libraries reserve physical 
space in the library to conduct programs for 
young children and their parents, bringing 
them together with community resources and 
professionals in child development 

Chairwoman Carolyn McCarthy (D­NY), 
ranking subcommittee member Congress­
man Todd Russell Platts (R­PA), and fellow 
members of the subcommittee demonstrated 
great interest in Zales’s testimony and her 
fellow witnesses. Subcommittee members 
noted their support for libraries, asked several 
important follow­up questions, and set an 
overall positive tone for LSTA reauthorization 
in the coming year. 

Following the conclusion of the hearing, 
Zales grabbed the attention McCarthy and Platts 
to add a personal touch to her testimony. En­
thusiasm for the future of the library community 
was shared by all in attendance, and the hearing 
was judged to be a great success. 

October 2008  571 C&RL News 

mailto:abridges@alawash.org