ALA Washington Office

1615 New Hampshire Ave NW1st Floor
Washington DC 20009-2520

Phone : 202-628-8410
Toll Free Number: 1-800-941-8478
Fax : 202-628-8419

Mission

The American Library Association's Washington Office was established in 1945 to represent libraries on Capitol Hill, and now consists of the Office of Government Relations (OGR) and the Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP).

ALA Washington Office in the News

08.12 House cuts $302 million from BTOP program

08.11 House passes aid package that may save school librarian jobs

07.30 Watch Out For the Omega Copyright Windup

07.27 Library of Congress Expands Copyright Exception for Film Clips, Maintains Ebook Exception

07.27 Librarians Head for the Hill to Rally for Reading

ALA Washington Office News and Media Archives

Popular resources

Libraries: The Place of Opportunity (pdf)
Ensuring that librarians deliver quality library services to the public impacts many issues. For this reason, the ALA Washington Office offers this helpful guide to highlight these issues for non-librarian audiences. In "Libraries: The Place of Opportunity," you'll find out which issues concern libraries most and how those issues impact the public. This resource also includes information on how library users can join our efforts to build coalitions and promote the role libraries play in our communities.

dome

Legislative Scorecard
The Legislative Scorecard outlines votes and support of legislation that is important to and has an impact on the library community. We hope you will use this scorecard as a tool to gauge your elected official's support of library related legislation.

E-Gov Toolkit

Government agencies at the local, state, and federal level are increasingly moving online to provide services directly to the public, resulting in new opportunities as well as challenges for the nation’s libraries. Recognizing the importance of this development, the American Library Association (ALA) Committee on Legislation (COL) works with members from all types of libraries to assist them in determining national public policy priorities and in designing local programs and services that reflect current E-Government practices. COL’s E-Government Subcommittee works with various ALA units to consider federal legislation opportunities and assess the impact of E-Government services on local libraries. The Subcommittee produced this toolkit with tips and guidance to assist librarians in planning, managing, funding and promoting E-Government services. The ALA Washington Office also maintains an E-Government site on ALA Connect that contains background, sources, and information on legislative and other activities of the Subcommittee.

There's an App for That!

There’s an App for That! Libraries and Mobile Technology: An Introduction to Public Policy Considerations

OITP's latest policy brief takes a look at how the adoption of mobile technology alters the traditional relationships between libraries and their users.

The brief, authored by OITP consultant Timothy Vollmer, explores the challenges to reader privacy, issues of access to information in the digital age (including content ownership and licensing), digital rights management, and accessibility.

Despite these challenges, Vollmer said libraries are embracing the growing capabilities of mobile technology and providing new, innovative services that extend the way libraries serve their existing patrons. Read more.... (pdf)

Responsibilities

The ALA Washington Office provides executive leadership and administrative support to OGR and OITP, in addition to conducting media outreach and public relations efforts. The Washington Office also builds coalitions and partnerships with Washington-based representatives of other groups with interests similar to the library community.

Staff

Emily Sheketoff - Executive Director
Email: esheketoff@alawash.org

Office of Government Relations (OGR)

Lynne Bradley - Director
Email: lbradley@alawash.org

Jeffrey Kratz - Assistant Director
Email: jkratz@alawash.org

Don Essex - Legislative Information Specialist
Email: dessex@alawash.org

Corey Williams - Associate Director
Email: cwilliams@alawash.org

Jessica McGilvray - Assistant Director
Email: jmcgilvray@alawash.org

Kristin K. Murphy - Government Relations Specialist
Email:kmurphy@alawash.org

Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP)

Alan S. Inouye - Director
Email:ainouye@alawash.org

Carrie Russell - Director, Program on Public Access to Information
Email: crussell@alawash.org

Kathy Mitchell - Project Coordinator
Email: kmitchell@alawash.org

Marijke Visser - Information Technology Policy Analyst
Email: mvisser@alawash.org

Communications & Media

Jenni Terry - Press Officer
Email: jterry@alawash.org

Jacob Roberts - Communications Specialist
Email: jroberts@alawash.org

Administration

Pat May - Director, Administration
Email: pmay@alawash.org

Rosalind Reynolds - Assistant Director, Administration
Email: rreynolds@alawash.org