================================================================= ALAWON Volume 6, Number 64 ISSN 1069-7799 July 29, 1997 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: ( lines) HOUSE/SENATE FUNDING COMMITTEES PROVIDE DETAILS ON LSTA INCREASES _________________________________________________________________ HOUSE/SENATE FUNDING COMMITTEES PROVIDE DETAILS ON LSTA INCREASES Both House and Senate Appropriations Committees have now issued their bills and reports on the fiscal year 1998 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations. These are the measures that include funding for library, education, and related programs. HOUSE BILL. The House bill is H.R. 2264. For the Library Services and Technology Act, the committee report (H. Rept. 105-205) states: The bill includes $142,000,000 for library programs, an increase of $5,631,000 above the budget request and the comparable fiscal year 1997 appropriation. Pursuant to the 1996 reauthorization of the library programs, the bill provides a consolidated appropriation for libraries which will be transferred from the Department of Education to the independent Institute of Museum and Library Services. The authorization provides that a minimum of 91.5 percent of the appropriation is allocated for grants to States, up to 3 percent may be allocated for [federal level] administration, 4 percent is allocated for discretionary national grants, and 1.5 percent is allocated for Indian libraries. SENATE BILL. The Senate bill is S. 1061. For LSTA, the Senate committee provided a $10 million increase, for a higher total of $146.4 million. However, the entire $10 million increase would be for LSTA National Leadership Grants or Contracts, which under the President's budget request would be at $5,455,000 (4% of the total requested, as the law specifies). S. Rept. 105-58 notes: The Committee recommends $15,455,000 for national leadership projects, an increase of $10,000,000 above the administration request. These funds support activities of national significance to enhance the quality of library services nationwide and to provide coordination between libraries and museums. Activities are carried out through grants and contracts awarded on a competitive basis to libraries, agencies, institutions of higher education and museums. Priority is given to projects that focus on education and training of library personnel, research and development for the improvement of libraries, preservation, digitization of library materials, partnerships between libraries and museums and other activities that enhance the quality of library services nationwide. The Senate committee report then goes on to "urge" IMLS to provide nearly $8 million for specific projects: $1 million to a rural multitype library and educational institution demonstration and training project, such as the one developing at the "Montana information consortium, including the University of Montana and Montana State University:"; $1 million for a New York Public Library card catalog digitization project; $4 million to the "Children's Museums of Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Boston" to "use the resources of libraries and children's museums to provide innovative learning opportunities for at-risk children"; $1,130,000 to maintain and interpret a historic medical library collection at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia; and $800,000 for the cataloging and preservation of a library tracing the history of Pennsylvania's northeastern anthracite coal region. A problem with the Senate approach is that the basic LSTA program does not benefit from the Senate's increased total. The vast majority of LSTA funds are allocated to each state for library technological innovation and outreach projects designed to improve the delivery of library services within each state and throughout the country. How the differing House and Senate approaches to increases above the current $136.4 million for LSTA predecessor programs will be worked out depends mainly on how House and Senate conferees address differences after both chambers pass their respective bills. The conference process is expected to take place in September, after the congressional August recess. The ALA Washington Office will work with library supporters throughout the conference process to seek a large increase for the LSTA state grant program. Further detail from the Appropriations Committees' reports will be provided in future ALAWON issues on other programs of interest to libraries. _________________________________________________________________ ALAWON is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. To subscribe, send the message: subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc @ala.org. To unsubscribe, send the message: unsubscribe ala-wo to listproc@ala.org. ALAWON archives at http://www.ala.org/ washoff/alawon. Visit our Web site at http://www.alawash.org. ALA Washington Office 202.628.8410 (V) 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, #403 202.628.8419 (F) Washington, DC 20004-1701 800.941.8478 (V) Lynne E. Bradley, Editor Deirdre Herman, Managing Editor Contributors: Carol C. Henderson Claudette W. Tennant All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================