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[Pages S2427-S2428]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK
Mr. REED. Mr. President, I want to take a moment to join in the
celebration of National Library Week. This year's theme, ``Libraries =
Strong
[[Page S2428]]
Communities,'' is fitting. Every day, our libraries help make our
communities stronger and more vibrant, as they innovate and mobilize
resources to provide programs and services that meet ever-evolving
community needs.
That is why I have been proud to work during my time in the Senate on
ways to support our Nation's libraries. Last December, on a bipartisan
basis, I secured passage and enactment of my legislation to reauthorize
and enhance the Museum and Library Services Act. This law authorizes
Federal funding, a relatively modest investment, through the Institute
of Museum and Library Services, IMLS, to enable libraries and museums
to work in partnership at the State and local levels and with
nonprofits, universities, businesses, and others to support, educate,
enlighten, and enrich our communities. For libraries, this law seeks to
ensure they are equipped to serve community needs, in areas such as
workforce, economic, and business development; digital and financial
literacy; critical thinking; and new and emerging technologies.
Critically, this new law ensures that increases in library formula
funding will be shared more broadly across States and specifically
smaller ones like Rhode Island.
Just last week, I hosted a conversation with our State's library
professionals to follow-up on a similar roundtable I held in Rhode
Island in 2016 as I began my work on the Museum and Library Services
Act. It was inspiring to hear the many ways in which our libraries are
hard at work transforming themselves to serve their diverse
communities.
I was glad the director of IMLS, Dr. Kathryn Matthew, could join us
for this event. We have a special duty in Rhode Island to elevate the
work of IMLS, which is one of my predecessor, Senator Pell's, many
lasting gifts to our Nation.
While the President's budget proposes to once again eliminate funding
for IMLS, I have been able to instead secure an increase of $11 million
for this agency over the last 2 years. There is broad, bipartisan
support for the work IMLS does, and I am continuing to work with my
colleagues to increase funding so we can advance IMLS's mission.
My work on libraries extends to ones in our schools, which also need
our care and attention. Studies show that effective school library
programs, staffed by a certified school librarian, have a positive
impact on student achievement and educational success. Knowing how to
find and use information are essential skills for college, careers, and
life in general. A good school library, staffed by a trained school
librarian, is where students develop and hone these skills.
Yet, according to the American Library Association, while 91 percent
of the over 90,000 public and private elementary and secondary schools
in the Nation have a school library, only 61 percent have a full-time
librarian. A National Education Association report about trends in
school libraries found that students in the highest poverty schools
were less likely to have libraries at their schools and there were
significant disparities in staffing at schools with high percentages of
minority students. Access to an effective school library program,
staffed by a certified school librarian, is an issue of educational
equity.
In 2015, I was pleased to work with the library community and my
colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure that our main Federal
elementary and secondary education law continued to specifically
address the critical equity issue of public school libraries. Since my
time in the other body, I have worked hard to ensure Federal support
for our school libraries and I continue to fight for increased funding
for the Innovative Approaches to Literacy, IAL, grant program
authorized in the Every Students Succeeds Act, ESSA. IAL provides
competitive awards to school libraries, as well as national not-for-
profit organizations to support children and families in high-need,
underserved communities. By providing age-appropriate books, supporting
parental engagement programs, and reinforcing professional development,
the IAL program helps to support literacy skills to ensure children are
best positioned for success.
I encourage all of my colleagues to visit their local libraries and
school libraries to see firsthand that libraries are no longer quaint
and quiet places to find the latest books, although they still offer
plenty of that. They are community hubs providing innovative
programming and services to spark creativity, boost learning and STEM
education, promote the use of emerging technologies, and develop new
career pathways. In sum, they are strengthening our communities, our
States, and our Nation.
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