ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline
Volume 10, Number 14
March 1, 2001

In this issue:
	[1] Participate in Thank You Day 2001
[2] Non-itemizer charitable deduction introduced in the House today


[1] Participate in Thank You Day 2001

Your library is the center of information in your community. During 
National Library Week, the American Library Association invites your 
library to participate in Thank You Day - a new nationwide event to 
highlight and celebrate library programs and "success stories" made 
possible through the support of elected officials and federal and state 
dollars. For Thank You Day forms in downloadable text format, please visit
www.ala.org/washoff/thankyou.html.

We realize that thanking your elected officials is something that you 
may already be doing on a regular basis. In establishing Thank You Day, 
we are asking your library to band together with thousands of libraries 
across the country to generate media attention on a national scale.

You should invite elected officials, the community, the media, and 
library supporters and users to meet people who have benefited from your 
library's programs. Get your board of trustees, friends group, and 
public supporters involved as early as possible. (They can help you get 
the elected official there and work with you to improve the day's 
presentation.) School library media centers can involve the Parent 
Teacher's Association and school administrators.

Design a presentation that highlights your new and innovative programs 
tailored to your community. As you know, government dollars benefit 
libraries in a number of ways. There are many reasons to say "thank you" 
to state or federal Representatives and Senators for advances in your 
library that resulted from the impetus of government funds. Remember 
that the original legislation specifically for libraries was established 
in 1956 - that's more than four decades of federal funds going to 
libraries in every state!

This event will:

Demonstrate to elected officials the widespread community support for 
library programs, reinforce the importance of these programs to the 
community with the public, and encourage more libraries to apply for 
more resources from local, state and federal elected officials.

Educate elected officials on the importance of school library media 
centers and libraries while providing media exposure and contact with 
the public.

Illustrate the use of technology in libraries and demonstrate that the 
E-rate program has had a positive impact on library users in underserved 
areas.
Good publicity increases awareness and builds support among the general 
public, government decision-makers and other supporting organizations, 
and likely library users. Thank you!

[2] Non-itemizer charitable deduction introduced in the House today

Earlier today, Rep. Phil Crane (R-IL) introduced the Charitable Giving 
Tax Relief Act, which would allow non-itemizers to deduct the full value 
of their charitable contributions, up to the value of the standard 
deduction.

Crane's bill contains no floor, enabling non-itemizers to deduct their
contributions starting with the first dollar.  In addition, there is no
phase-in period. 

Crane also introduced two additional bills today which would affect the
nonprofit sector -- the IRA charitable rollover and the "charitable
deduction haircut."  ALAWON will monitor both of these bills, and 
provide further updates as necessary.




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ALA Washington Office, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Suite 403, 
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toll-free; fax: 202.628.8419; e-mail: alawash@alawash.org; Web 
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