****Begin File*************Begin File**************Begin File**** ***************************************************************** ISSN 1069-7799 ALAWON ALA Washington Office Newsline An electronic publication of the American Library Association Washington Office Volume 4, Number 94 November 13,1995 In this issue: (230 lines) LIBRARY GROUPS RECOMMEND LSTA COMPROMISE TO CONFEREES - ACTION NEEDED: EXPRESS SUPPORT OF LIBRARY COMMUNITY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE FINAL HOUSE-SENATE CONFERENCE VERSION OF LSTA IN H.R. 1617 ***************************************************************** LIBRARY GROUPS RECOMMEND LSTA COMPROMISE TO CONFEREES - ACTION NEEDED HOUSE AND SENATE VERSIONS OF H.R. 1617: Both House and Senate have passed legislation in recent months that would continue a reconfigured federal role in support of libraries. In this much changed political climate, that is a tribute to the concerted efforts of many library advocates throughout the country. The library provisions are, for the most part, a reorganization and simplification of the Library Services and Construction Act as the Library Services and Technology Act. However, both House and Senate versions of H.R. 1617, the large job training and adult education consolidation bill in which the library provisions are embedded, would rearrange or reduce the federal role in support of libraries. The House bill would do this by repealing the Higher Education Act library programs and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act III-F program of assistance for school library media resources. The ESEA school library program was just enacted in 1994 and has not yet been funded. The House approach would authorize $110 million for an LSTA-like program of assistance through state library agencies for technology-based assistance for libraries. The Senate bill incorporates a more comprehensive federal library role, leaving the ESEA school library program untouched, and incorporating a simplified HEA II-like program as a setaside within LSTA for a national leadership program in library science (for research/demonstrations, education/training, and preservation/digitization). The Senate version of LSTA would authorize $150 million, mainly for assistance through state library agencies for both technology and special services assistance for libraries, but also with several small setasides. The Senate also added some unexpected touches to its version of LSTA. The library programs would be administered, not by the Department of Education, but by a new Institute of Museum and Library Services. The National Commission on Libraries and Information Science would serve an advisory role to the Institute Director on library programs, similar to the role of the National Museum Services Board regarding museum grant programs administered by the current Institute of Museum Services. Thus both bills elicit praise and concern from various parts of the library community. The House bill is simple and straightforward, with a federal role easy to understand and defend in today's political climate. However, it would reduce the current level of funding significantly (from $142 million to a maximum of $110 million), and would eliminate other library programs important to the library community. The Senate bill incorporates the full LSTA proposal developed by the American Library Association, the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies, and the Urban Libraries Council, leaves intact or reinvents other federal library programs, but changes the home of the program in a way that some have considered controversial. LIBRARY RECOMMENDATIONS TO CONFEREES: The crucial final stage of this legislative process has begun--a House-Senate conference to work out differences between the two versions of H.R. 1617. ALA, COSLA, and ULC have recommended a proposed compromise to the congressional conferees that attempts to incorporate the strengths of both approaches. The proposed compromise is designed: o to promote enactment of an effective, appropriate, and responsible federal library program; o to retain provisions that would enable all three library groups that developed LSTA to support the resulting conference recommendations; o to be realistic in light of the political context surrounding the legislation; and o to enable library legislative champions in both parties and in both House and Senate to support the recommendations. The recommendations incorporate the following features: 1. Retains the state-based approach of both bills--sending most funds through state library agencies to allow maximum flexibility and encourage partnerships to meet differing needs for library service in the states and localities. 2. Retains the fuller federal role of S. 143--with an authorization level that accommodates a small amount of direct federal assistance for national needs and special projects in libraries, special demonstrations, education and training programs, and preservation of library materials. Retains ESEA III-F school library resources program as an authorized program. 3. Retains the Senate bill's structure, with library programs administered by an Institute of Museum and Library Services, in order to retain the Senate's more comprehensive federal role. 4. Shortens, simplifies, and reduces the bureaucratic requirements of the LSTA provisions, in order to retain the House bill's simplicity. 5. Retains House and Senate emphasis on workforce and economic development, and literacy and lifelong learning, while maintaining a balance between stimulating technology infrastructure for libraries, and assistance to those who need special help for access to library services and information technologies. OUTLOOK: The library community's recommendations have been shared with congressional staff of House-Senate conference leaders. The reaction has been positive. One key Senate staffer asked if she could use the library document as a model for other groups. No other constituency has come together with joint recommendations, and this staffer was impressed with the result and grateful to the library organizations. Nevertheless, House-Senate conferees are not likely to accept every aspect of the library recommendations. Some legislators will want to make changes; some differences are bound to occur during hard negotiations on these large bills. Neither are all parts of the library recommendations supported equally enthusiastically by all library constituencies. However, the three groups have come together to maintain the strength of unity from the library community that has characterized the development of the LSTA proposal. ACTION NEEDED: Your help is needed at this final key stage in the renewal of the major federal role in support of libraries. Your support of library community recommendations for the final House-Senate conference version of LSTA in H.R. 1617 is crucial. Please respond and spread the word to other library advocates. A quick and widespread response to this action call will make a major difference. The future of federal assistance for improved library service is at stake! Thank you for your help on this important issue. MESSAGE TO CONGRESS: All library advocates should contact their Senators and Representatives to urge that the House-Senate conference committee on H.R. 1617 incorporate the library community recommendations in their final joint version of H.R. 1617. It is especially important that library constituents of House-Senate conferees contact these key legislators immediately. SENATE CONFEREES: Senate conferees on H.R. 1617 were named on October 19, and include all members of the Labor and Human Resources Committee and its Subcommittee on Education, Arts and Humanities: Nancy Kassebaum (R-KS), chair, full committee Jim Jeffords (R-VT), chair, subcommittee Dan Coats (R-IN) Judd Gregg (R-NH) Bill Frist (R-TN) Mike DeWine (R-OH) John Ashcroft (R-MO) Spencer Abraham (R-MI) Slade Gorton (R-WA) Edward Kennedy (D-MA), ranking minority member, full committee Claiborne Pell (D-RI), ranking minority member, subcommittee Christopher Dodd (D-CT) Paul Simon (D-IL) Tom Harkin (D-IA) Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) Paul Wellstone (D-MN) HOUSE CONFEREES: House conferees have not yet been named, but will be appointed from members of the Economic and Educational Opportunities Committee. This is a large committee; rather than attempt to predict which members will be conferees, a few key members with a special interest in or influence on the library provisions are listed below: William Goodling (R-PA), chair, full committee Randy (Duke) Cunningham (R-CA), chair, Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Youth and Families Steve Gunderson (R-WI) Michael Castle (R-DE) Dale Kildee (D-MI), ranking minority member, Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Youth and Families Pat Williams (D-MT), ranking minority member, Subcom. on Postsec. Educ., Training and Lifelong Learning Major Owens (D-NY), ranking minority member, Subcommittee on Worker Protections Jack Reed (D-RI) ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is an irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004. Internet: alawash@alawash.org; Phone: 202-628-8410; Fax: 202-628-8419. Contributing to this issue: Carol C. Henderson; Editor: Lynne E. Bradley (leb@alawash.org). ALAWON is available free of charge and is available only in electronic form. To subscribe, send the message "subscribe ala-wo [your name]" to listserv@uicvm (Bitnet) or listserv@uicvm.uic.edu (Internet). Back issues and other documents are available from the listserv the list server. To find out what's available, send the message "send ala-wo filelist" to the listserv. The ALA-WO filelist contains the list of files with the exact filename and filetype. To get a particular file, issue the command "send filename filetype" to the listserv. Do not include the quotes in your commands. All materials in the newsletter subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. 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