FROM: ALA President Emily Drabinski
TO: ALA Executive Board members, Council
As you know, ALA launched our federal FY 2025 #FundLibraries campaign last Monday with the release of two dear appropriator letters in support of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) programs. We've just learned that the new deadline for submitting signatures for the House letters is Wednesday, May 1.
We're concerned that the combination of partisan gridlock, election year politics and a proposed 4% cut to LSTA from the White House will mean decreased funding for LSTA in FY 2025. As for IAL, the WH at least proposed level funding for it, but every year we have to prod for signatures, and the program just doesn't get the same backing as LSTA.
Right now, we are far from our goal of reaching the same number of signatures as we had on the letters last year. Here's where we're at:
- House LSTA signatures: 62 (*FY24: 93)
- House IAL signatures: 25 (*FY24: 67)
- Senate LSTA signatures: 24 (*FY24: 43)
- Senate LSTA signatures: 18 (*FY24: 35)
I know we can do better. To gain more signatures, the Public Policy and Advocacy team is asking leaders (division and chapter presidents, executive directors and others) to make calls to our own Representatives and then follow up by email by EOB on Monday, April 29. Would you join me in taking these steps? They've made it easy for us by providing simple directions, a phone call script and email template, below. And if you are willing, please also post on social about your advocacy to encourage other ALA members to add their voices. You can repost from ALA's channels (links below), or you can draft your own post.
Last note – the deadline for Senate letters is still May 10, but we don't have to wait – we can contact them now, too. If you have any questions about these federal programs or ALA's #FundLibraries campaign, please contact Kris Stewart, ALA's Grassroots Communications Manager (kstewart@alawash.org).
I am grateful to serve alongside you as a leader at ALA, where we're not only decision makers, but advocates and ambassadors as well. ALA's comms team will be looking out for #FundLibraries hashtags, and we'll report back to you on the results of the House Dear Appropriator letter campaign next week!
Have a good weekend,
Emily Drabinski
#FundLibraries FY2025 Actions for ALA Executive Board and Council Members
The directions are as follows:
- Find the name of your Representative.
- Call your Representative's office through the Capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121
- Ask for the name and email address for the education/library staffer for your member of Congress.
- Deliver the short message below.
- Follow up with an email to the appropriate staffer using the template email message (provided below), which includes links to the text of the dear appropriator letters.
The phone script, email and social posts should be customized with the name of your Representative (and, ideally, indicate if they have signed both, one or neither letter). The chart on ALA's #FundLibraries web page tells you which letters (if any) your Representative and Senators have signed (and their record of signing from past years!). Of course, if they have signed one of the letters, do thank them!
PHONE CALL: DIRECTIONS and SCRIPT for contacting U.S. Representatives
Note: Check ALA's updated chart on signature status: https://www.ala.org/advocacy/fund-libraries#Sign%20ons
"Hello, I am a Council member for the American Library Association and a constituent, and I'm calling to ask Representative [last name] to support funding for libraries in FY 25. Two bipartisan Dear Appropriator letters are circulating to support library funding, and we note that Representative [last name] has not yet signed [either/one] of these letters.
One letter supports the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), which returns valuable resources to our state and district every year. The letter is led by Representatives Raul Grijalva [pron: gree-HAHL-vuh] and Don Bacon. The second letter supports the Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) program, which is the only federal program directly supporting literacy initiatives in school libraries. That letter is led by Representatives Jim McGovern and Don Bacon.
The deadline to sign these letters is Monday. Thank you for passing along my request to Representative [last name]."
EMAIL TEMPLATE (to follow up after phone calls)
Note: If you didn't catch the name and email address of the appropriate staffer when you called, you can check the Congressperson's website.
Hello. I am following up on my earlier call urging Rep. [last name] to support libraries in our community in the FY 2025 budget. Every day, libraries provide valuable, no-fee services to children and families, veterans, unemployed, small businesses and entrepreneurs, seniors, and many others. In many communities, libraries are the only resource for broadband access, computing devices, and digital services.
Two bipartisan Dear Appropriator letters are circulating to support library funding in FY 2025, and Rep. [last name] has not yet signed both of these letters. One letter (text here) supports the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and is led by Reps. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ-07) and Don Bacon (R-NE-2). LSTA provides valuable resources for public libraries in our state and resources for many of your constituents.
The second letter (text here) supports school libraries through the Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) program in the Department of Education. The IAL letter is led by Reps. Jim McGovern (D-MA-2) and Don Bacon (R-NE-2).
As your constituent and as a Councilor of the American Library Association, I urge you to sign both the LSTA and IAL letters.
· To sign the Grijalva-Bacon LSTA letter, contact Dorothy Holley at Dorothy.Holley@mail.house.gov or 225-2435.
· To sign the McGovern-Bacon IAL letter, contact Isabella Edo at Isabella.Edo@mail.house.gov or 225-6101.
Please note that the deadline to sign these letters is Wednesday, May 1. Thank you for sharing my request today.
[closing valediction/signature]
SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS
In addition to making phone calls and sending emails to your own congressional leaders, posting strategically in support of the campaign from your personal social media accounts can move others to action. For your convenience, feel free to repost/quote post one of ALA's social media posts:
Below are some suggestions and samples to work from (keeping in mind that customization/using an authentic voice is best):
- use the hashtag #FundLibraries
- tag your members of Congress and urge them to sign the letters that help their constituents
- include the May 1 deadline for House signatures
If you're posting on X/Twitter or Threads (which have a maximum word count), be sure to separate the copy below into a two-post thread. The first post is geared toward getting chapter members and library advocates to act, while the second post is geared directly at your elected officials. Here is a sample:
- Fellow @ALAlibrary members: I just asked my senators and representative to sign letters to fully fund the LSTA and IAL programs. Check your legislators' sign-on status here and join me to ask Congress to #FundLibraries: [LINK: https://www.ala.org/advocacy/fund-libraries]
- [@RepHandle], [State] libraries are counting on federal funding to support summer reading, workforce programs, & more. Please stand with us & #FundLibraries by signing letters supporting the LSTA and IAL programs before the May 1 deadline. [LINK: https://www.ala.org/advocacy/fund-libraries]
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Marsha P. Burgess
Council Secretariat
American Library Association
mburgess@ala.org(312) 280-3204
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