ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 158 / C&RL N ew s ■ M a rc h 2004 W a s h i n g t o n H o t l i n e Josh Farrelman and Bernadette Murphy P resid en t Bush an n o u n ces FY 2005 budget O n February 2, President Bush sent Congress a $2.3 trillion budget for FY 2005 that w ould limit non-defense, non-homeland security spending to less than a 1 percent increase. Despite record deficits and state budget cuts, Bush proposed $220 million for the Library Pro­ gram at the Institute for Museum and Library Ser­ vices (IMLS), an increase of 11 percent. Within the request was $23 million for the Librarians for the 21st Century program, a $3 million increase. Under the budget, the Department of Educa­ tion w ould receive $53.7 billion in discretionary funding, a $1.7 billion increase (or 3 percent over the FY 2004 level). The budget request includes $1.1 billion, an increase o f $101 million (or 10 percent) for the Reading First State Grants pro­ gram. The Early Reading First program, an impor­ tant complement to Reading First, would receive $132 million, an increase o f $38 million (or 40 percent). T he Improving Literacy through School Li­ braries program w ould b e funded at $19.8 mil­ lion, the same level as FY 2004. Despite increases in the overall funding, Bush proposes eliminating several key programs in his budget, such as the Even Start family literacy program, Star Schools, and Community Technology Centers program. Included in the president’s budget, and also part of his Jobs for the 21st Century initiative, is $100 million for the Striving Readers Initiative. This program w ould m ake competitive grants available to states and school districts to develop, implement, and evaluate effective reading inter­ ventions for middle and high school students read­ ing significantly below grade level. For confirmation of the budget numbers, visit ALA’s Web site at www.ala.org/. OITP o ffe rs " A c c e ssib ility Basics fo r Lib rarian s" From March 15 through Ju n e 18, 2004, ALA’s Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) will host an online e-mail tutorial on accessibility Josh Farrelman is appropriations lobbyist and Bernadette Murphy is communications specialist at ALA's Washington Office, e- mail: bmurphy@alawash.org and jfarrelman@alawash.org of library materials and services for people with disabilities. Similar in format to the successful pri­ vacy, copyright, UCITA, and licensing tutorials offered in past years, the accessibility tutorial will examine aspects of accessibility for library profes­ sionals in 20 to 25 brief but informative messages written by Jessica Brodey, senior policy counsel for Leslie Harris and Associates, in collaboration w ith OITP staff. Brodey has w o rk ed w ith the Technology, Education, and Accessible Media Coalition, comprised of disability rights groups, educational organizations, and technology com­ panies working to increase access to educational technology for students with disabilities. In addition to an overview o f relevant law, the tutorial will help librarians understand how to deal with barriers to access to library materials, computers, Web sites, and systems. It will also provide guidance to libraries on how to maximize accessibility for patrons with disabilities and iden­ tify best practices for ensuring that library policies are compliant with existing law. The tutorial course is free to ALA members, and signing up is easy. If you are an ALA member, e-mail your member number to Kathy Mitchell at kcmitchell@alawash.org with the subject line “tu­ torial.” You will be subscribed to the list and will receive an automated welcome message within a few days. Non-ALA m em bers can also receive the tu­ torial by sending a $30 check or m oney order m ade payable to ALA. Please include your e- mail address with your check to b e subscribed. Send th e ch eck to: ALA, Office for Inform a­ tio n T ech n o lo g y Policy, 1301 P ennsylvania A venue NW Suite 403, W ashington, D.C. 20004, Attn: K athy Mitchell. All subscribers will receive their first tu to ­ rial m essage o n March 15. You can read your m essages w h e n th ey arrive o r save th em for later, b ut w e recommend reading the messages in the order in w hich they are received. Please note the e-mail tutorial is one-w ay com m uni­ cation, an d yo u will n o t b e able to p o st to a discussion list. For more information, contact Kathy Mitchell at kmitchell@alawash.org with the subject line “tutorial,” o r call ALA’s W ashington Office at (800) 941-8478. ■ http://www.ala.org/ mailto:lcmitchell@alawash.org mailto:kmitchell@alawash.org mailto:bmurphy@alawash.org mailto:andjfarrelman@alawash.org C&RL News ■ M arch 2004 / 159