« Building Burrillville | Main | Summer learning »
RI library advocates go to Washington
By howard | May 23, 2008
Last Tuesday and Wednesday I spent with some of my most convivial colleagues. Seven of us constituted a RI delegation to ALA’s National Library Legislation Day (NLLD). We learned a lot and accomplished a lot, and rediscovered how special RI is on the national library advocacy stage. Three members of the LiBRI (Library Board of Rhode Island), chair Mark McKenney, Joan Ress Reeves, and Rose Ellen Reynolds (who also represented COLA), Chris LaRoux, RILA president, Jackie Lamoureux, president of RIEMA, David Macksam RI’s ALA councilor and I participated in a Briefing Day on Tuesday and visited our congressmen and senators on Wednesday. We went armed with information packets for our legislators and for their staffs outlining the federal issues of special interest to RI libraries. See what was in our Packets:
- Facts about Rhode Island Libraries
- Key Issues for Rhode Islanders
- Library Services and Technology Acts
- What happens when the money isn’t there?
- Improving literacy through school libraries, Rhode Island
- Improving literacy through school libraries, RI District 1
- Improving literacy through school libraries, RI District 2
- School libraries work!
- Why should you support your school library?
- Rhode Island Talking Books Plus
Briefing Day was deftly managed by ALA’s Washington Office. It featured a rundown by the Washington Office’s executive director Emily Sheketoff of the hot library issues before the legislature and key messages that ALA wants to convey on behalf of libraries. Emily not only understands libraries of all kinds, but is on top of the what and who of currents events on the Hill. Remarkably, she is able to communicate all that (and it is an ‘all that’!) to us ordinary librarians and library supporters in a way we can understand. The Washington Office team also prepared a slew of papers on ALA’s hot issues and key messages for us to share with our legislators. You can see them at ‘issue briefs’ and at ‘other resources’ on their website: http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/washevents/nlld/nlld2008.cfm. Also valuable was a panel of congressional hill staffers with tips on how the legislative process works and how to communicate with legislators and their staffs.
Briefing Day also held the first NLLD experience of RI as something special. That was the presentation of the first annual WHCLIST (White House Conference on Library and Information Services Taskforce) award to help pay for a participant to attend NLLD. The award was presented by our own Rose Ellen Reynolds, current chair of WHCLIST – RI showing the way.
Wednesday the RI delegation gathered in front of Representative Langevin’s Office in the Cannon House Office Building. We were joined by James Telhia, who is leaving URI for a post in Idaho and was joining both state delegations for legislator visits. We had a friendly and productive visit with Rep. Langevin’s Legislative Assistant Kirtley Ficher.
Thus we began the second round of our “RI is special” experience. Unlike most of our colleagues in other states, we found ourselves more thanking our legislators than petitioning them. Jim added to that feeling; we all noted that he is moving from the nation’s bluest to the nation’s reddest state. Having joined the Idaho delegation for their visits the day before, he could attest to the contrast. We didn’t have any hard sales to make, just reminders that library-related issues need attention.
At Rep. Patrick Kennedy’s office , also in the Cannon Bldg., we met primarily with very knowledgeable legislative assistant Mike Harney. The congressman did stop in for a considerable time to say hi and assure us of his concern for our issues.
After lunch in the Senate Cafeteria we spoke with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and his assistant Regan Fitzpatrick in the Hart Senate Office Building. Again, we said thank you. Senator Whitehouse is particularly involved in our intellectual freedom issues, and eagerly joins Senator Reed in his support of libraries.
The biggest thank yous, of course went to Senator Jack Reed, who saw us in his office, also in the Hart Building, and his legislative aide and long time library advocate Elyse Wasch. Senator Reed continues to be the driving force of library advocacy in the US Congress and Elyse continues to be the librarian’s ideal of a legislative staffer.
In the lobby at Senator Reed’s office, we ran into a delegation from Rhode Island After School Plus Alliance – one of our local natural allies in providing services to children also there to thank the senator and remind him of RI kids’ – and parents’ – continuing needs.
All of our legislators urged patience. Action on library issues (and a host of others) they told us, is likely to wait until the new administration takes over. Dollar items especially, are likely to be on the shelf until next spring. We can wait until March, we intimated, but our needs, especially full funding for LSTA, SKILLS and NLS for Talking Books Plus, e-rate, net neutrality and the issues that impinge upon intellectual freedom. We had a successful and satisfying NLLD.
Many thanks to all who helped: at OLIS, especially Debbie Cullerton who did all the logistics for our delegation and Alicia Waters who helped Debbie put the information packets together – in time.
Topics: General | Comments Off on RI library advocates go to Washington
Comments are closed.