C&RL News March 2015 166

Jazzy Wright is press offi  cer of the ALA Washington 
Offi  ce, email: jwright@alawash.org

W a s h i n g t o n  H o t l i n eJazzy Wright

President Obama’s budget increases 
library funding
President Barack Obama in early February 
transmitted to U.S. Congress the Obama 
Administration’s nearly $4 trillion budget 
request to fund the federal government for 
the 2016 fi scal year, which begins October 
1, 2015. Highlights for the library community 
include $186.5 million in assistance to librar-
ies through the Library Services and Technol-
ogy Act, an important program that provides 
funding to states through the Institute of 
Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The 
budget included the allocation of $8.8 million 
in funding for a national digital platform for 
library and museum services, which will give 
more Americans free and electronic access to 
the resources of libraries, archives, and mu-
seums by promoting the use of technology to 
expand access to the holdings of museums, 
libraries, and archives. This new program will 
be funded by the IMLS National Leadership 
Grant programs for Libraries ($5.3 million) 
and Museums ($3.5 million).

Registration opens for 41st annual 
National Library Legislative Day
In January, registration opened for ALA’s 41st 
annual National Library Legislative Day, a 
two-day advocacy event where hundreds of 
library supporters, leaders, and patrons meet 
with members of Congress in Washington, 
D.C. This year’s National Library Legislative 
Day takes place May 4-5, 2015. Participants 
will receive advocacy tips and training, along 
with issues briefi ngs prior to their meetings. 
Last year, more than 400 librarians, patrons, 
teens, and parents from across the country 
met with members of Congress to discuss 
key library issues.

First-time participants are eligible for a 
unique scholarship opportunity. The White 
House Conference on Library and Informa-
tion Services Taskforce (WHCLIST) and 

the ALA Washington Offi ce are calling for 
nominations for the 2015 WHCLIST Award. 
Recipients of this award receive a stipend 
($300 and two free nights at a D.C. hotel) to 
a nonlibrarian participant in National Library 
Legislative Day. The deadline for applications 
is April 1, 2015. For more information, visit 
www.ala.org/nlld.

Library leaders: E-rate opportunities 
take center stage
At the start of the ALA’s Midwinter Meet-
ing in Chicago, the association announced 
the launch of “Got E-rate?,” a new initiative 
that encourages library leaders to apply for 
Internet discounts as part of the national e-
rate program. The initiative is a response to 
the Federal Communications Commission’s 
recent overhaul of the e-rate program, which 
included adding $1.5 billion to the annual 
available funding. This infusion and other 
program changes provide new opportunities 
for libraries to radically rethink their broad-
band networks and begin to make gains 
toward the broadband speeds necessary for 
today’s and tomorrow’s library services.

In the coming weeks, ALA will launch 
a series of e-rate resources, including com-
munications, education, practical tools, and 
technical support for librarians who are 
interested in applying for e-rate funding. 
Additionally, ALA will work collaboratively 
with the Chief Offi cers of State Library Agen-
cies and the Public Library Association to 
support libraries with applying for the e-rate 
program. 

Upcoming ACRL e-Learning
ACRL is offering a variety of online semi-
nars and webcasts this winter. Upcoming 
topics include:

Rethinking the Book Container: Advanc-
ing the Role of the Library as Publisher 
(Webcast: January 21, 2015)

Action Research to Bridge Academic 
Scholarship and Everyday Practice 
(Webcast: February 5, 2015)

Virtual Reference 101 (Webcast: Febru-
ary 19, 2015)

Visit the ACRL e-Learning website at 
www.ala.org/acrl/onlinelearning for 
details.

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