Iowans visit Congress to Ask for Support for LSTA Funding

A delegation of Iowans attended the May 3-4, 2005 National Library Legislative Day in Washington, DC. 

Attending were Mary Wegner, State Librarian; Dale Ross, Iowa Commission of Libraries Chair; Kate Martin, Head of Collection Management and Special Services, Univ. of Northern Iowa, and current Iowa Library Association (ILA) President; Susan Craig, Iowa City Public Library Director and president-elect of the ILA; Pat Coffie, Waverly Public Library Director and ILA Governmental Affairs Committee Chair.

The group met with members of the Iowa Congressional delegation to seek support for library legislation now pending in Congress.   They met with Congressmen Jim Nussle, Leonard Boswell, Tom Latham and Jim Leach, and staff from the offices of Congressman Steve King, and Senators Tom Harkin and Chuck Grassley.

The event is sponsored by the American Library Association and other concerned organizations to raise awareness about the importance to local communities of federal funding through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA).

Said State Librarian Mary Wegner, "The Congressional visits gave us the opportunity to tell the story of Iowa libraries.  We discussed how the State Library uses federal LSTA funding to improve libraries and library services for Iowans through such programs as the EBSCOhost databases, the Iowa Center for the Book, development of the Summer Library Program and more.  We think it is important to let our federal Senators and Representatives know the importance of LSTA funds."

More than half of all Iowans benefit from LSTA funding.  In FY04 and FY05, the State Library received $1,806,556 and $1,858,287 respectively to fund programs for 1.6 million Iowa library users, as well as salaries of library development staff who generate and maintain heavily used statewide library services.

President Bush is asking Congress for a $15.3 million increase to the LSTA budget for this year.  Total funding would be $221,325,000.  The increase would come at a time when people are visiting and borrowing from libraries at record numbers, while libraries face unprecedented cuts in state and local resources.