ALA advocates for library funding at congressional hearing

Washington, D.C.—Emily Sheketoff, executive director of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Washington Office, today called on the U.S. House Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies to support federal library funding at an appropriations hearing that took place in Washington, D.C.

Representing our nation’s 16,400 public libraries, Sheketoff advocated for the House Subcommittee to include $186.6 million for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) under the Institute of Museum and Library Services and $25 million for the Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) program under the Fund for the Improvement of Education (FIE) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

"Libraries serve a vital role for communities by annually providing millions of Americans from every walk of life with ready and free access to all types of information, career and skills training, digital and print literacy instruction, and computing services," Sheketoff told Congress (read full testimony (pdf)). "The demand for such services has grown especially as Americans have been increasingly unable to afford broadband in their homes."

Sheketoff has served as the executive director of the ALA Washington Office since 1999. She currently oversees both the ALA Office of Government Relations (OGR) and the ALA Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP).

About the American Library Association

The American Library Association is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with approximately 55,000 members in academic, public, school, government, and special libraries. The mission of the American Library Association is to provide leadership for the development, promotion and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.