june13_b.indd


June 2013 321 C&RL News

Jazzy Wright is the press officer of the ALA Washington 
Office, e-mail: jwright@alawash.org

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

Library advocates tell legislators to 
protect library funding
More than 350 librarians and library sup-
porters from across the country converged 
in Washington, D.C., May 7–8, 2013, to 
meet with members of Congress to discuss 
key library issues during the ALA’s 39th 
annual National Library Legislative Day. 
The event focused on supporting federal 
funding for national libraries. Advocates 
discussed the need to fund the Library 
Services and Technology Act, support leg-
islation that gives people who use librar-
ies access to federally funded scholarly 
journal articles, and continue funding that 
provides school libraries with needed funds 
for materials. 

Representative Jeff Fortenberry (R-
Nebraska) received the 2013 Public Service 
Award for his support of libraries during 
the National Library Legislative Day. The 
event also included a virtual advocacy com-
ponent for library supporters who could 
not attend the Washington meetings—ad-
vocates worked remotely to connect with 
legislators via phone calls, e-mails, and 
social media platforms.

Senator Jack Reed introduces 
Workforce Investments Through 
Local Libraries Act
In May, Senator Jack Reed (D-Rhode Is-
land) introduced legislation to amend the 
Workforce Investment Act of 1998 that will 
integrate public libraries into state and local 
workforce investment boards. Senator Thad 
Cochran (R-Mississippi) cosponsored the 
bill. The bill, the Workforce Investments 
through Local Libraries (WILL) Act, would 
expand libraries’ opportunities to take 
leading roles in helping the public find 

employment in this weak economy. The 
WILL Act would support library efforts that 
provide job search support in communities 
all across America.

Additionally, the bill recognizes public 
libraries as allowable “One-Stop” partners 
and authorizes new demonstration and 
pilot projects to establish employment re-
sources in public libraries. This will allow 
library users access to workforce activities 
and information related to training services 
and employment opportunities, including 
but not limited to résumé development, job 
bank Web searches, literacy services, and 
workshops on career information.

ALA highlights library and 
community impacts from Broadband 
Technology Opportunities Program 
in new report
In May, ALA’S Office for Information 
Technology Policy released “U.S. Public 
Libraries and Broadband Technology Op-
portunities Program (BTOP),” a new report 
that details U.S. library engagement with 
the federal program. 

The report is the first to highlight state 
and local library BTOP projects nationwide 
and the improvements they have made to 
public access technology resources, digital 
literacy, and workforce development. Li-
brary projects in 29 states and the District 
of Columbia are featured in the report. 

ALA estimates about 20 percent of U.S. 
public libraries have benefited from BTOP 
funding. Through the American Recovery 
and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the National 
Telecommunications and Information 
Administration (NTIA) awarded just more 
than $4 billion to 233 BTOP projects. NTIA 
established BTOP to increase broadband 
access and adoption nationwide, and U.S. 
state and public libraries have been critical 
partners in this effort.