Message
The following
is a Press Release from the federal Institute of Museum and Library
Services (IMLS):
For Immediate Release
September 25,
2003
President Signs Legislation to Improve
Library and Museum Service
Washington, DC-- At a ceremony
today in the White House President George W. Bush signed into law H.R. 13 the
Museum and Library Services Act of 2003. The legislation reauthorizes
federal support provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services
(IMLS). Thousands of U.S. libraries and museums receive IMLS funds each
year; the agency is the primary source of federal support for these
institutions. All types of museums, art, history, natural history, science
and technology centers, children’s museums, botanical gardens, and zoos; and all
types of libraries, public, academic, school, research, and archives are
eligible for funding from the IMLS.
Dr. Robert Martin, Director of the Institute said,
“Libraries and museums are essential elements of public education in the United
States. They support learning before school starts, during the school
years and throughout the lifetime. Our democracy is strengthened by an
educated citizenry and this legislation will help libraries and museums to
create public value and sustain our nation of learners.”
This
legislation advances the role of libraries and museums to connect people to
knowledge and ideas in a new era. Today innovative technologies,
increasing diversity, and shifts in industry and labor markets combine to make
adapting to change a way of life. Navigating change, and achieving
prosperity and individual productivity, require the ability to learn
continually, to adapt readily, and to evaluate information critically.
This legislation will help museums and libraries work together and with their
communities to meet these challenges.
Support from IMLS helps libraries and museums
address issues of national concern such as improving literacy, furthering school
reform, preserving artistic and cultural heritage, teaching science and
technology, sustaining the natural environment, enhancing global understanding,
and stimulating creativity. It helps libraries and museums add digital
libraries, virtual exhibits, and exciting online resources to their time-honored
roles as places for story times, museum exhibits, school programs, reading and
centers of civic engagement. IMLS encourages libraries and museums to
pursue institutional planning and program evaluation to increase sustainability
and build capacity.
The legislation received bi-partisan support from
Congress and enthusiastic backing from the library and museum communities.
It continues authority provided by the original Museum and Library Services Act
which was passed in 1996 and placed combined authority for library and museum
programs in one federal agency for the first time. The reauthorization
makes organizational, programmatic, and structural changes that help complete
the transition.
H.R. 13 was introduced in the House on January 7,
2003 by Congressman Pete Hoekstra. It was approved by the House Committee
on Education and the Workforce on February 13, 2003. The House approved
the measure on March 6 by a vote of 416-2. Reauthorization bills were also
introduced in the Senate. Senator Jack Reed introduced S. 238 on January
28 and Senator Judd Gregg introduced S. 888 on April 11. The Senate
Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and the House Committee on
Education and the Workforce reached a consensus measure that was unanimously
approved by the Senate on August 1. The House passed the measure on
September 16. Statements from members of Congress on passage of the Act
follow this release.
The new
law:
* Updates the purpose of the Museum Services Act to
include: to encourage museums to achieve the highest standards of
management and service to the public; to promote their educational role in
conjunction with schools, families, and communities; and to carry out their
stewardship responsibilities to achieve the highest standards in conservation
and care of the cultural historic, natural, and scientific heritage of the
United States to benefit future generations;
* Updates the purposes of the Library Services and
Technology Act to promote improvements in library services in all types of
libraries; to facilitate access to, and sharing of, resources; and to achieve
economical and efficient delivery of service for the purpose of cultivating an
educated and informed citizenry.
* Authorizes a doubling of the minimum state
allotment under the Grants to States Library Agencies program. This is the
Institute’s largest program credited with helping to coordinate statewide
library services and supporting a wide array of programs from family literacy to
providing broad access to sophisticated databases. This program also
develops the role of libraries as “information brokers” helping to make
resources and services, which are often prohibitively expensive, more readily
available.
* Supports efforts to recruit and educate the next
generation of librarians addressing an impending critical shortage of
professional librarians in the United States.
* Provides authority to award the nation’s highest
honor for community service in libraries. (Similar authority for an award for
museum community service exists in current law.)
* Streamlines the advisory board structure creating
a National Museum and Library Services Board comprised of agency leadership and
20 presidential appointees confirmed by the Senate.
* Requires an annual analysis to identify trends
and needs for museum and library services.
* Creates support for Native American and Native
Hawaiian museum services. (Similar authority for Native American and
Native Hawaiian library services exists in current law.)
* Requires that the Director, where appropriate,
ensure that the library activities of IMLS are coordinated with the school
library provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act.
* Provides appropriations authority of $232,000,000
for library activities in FY 2004 and such sums in the subsequent years through
2009; and appropriations authority of $38,600,000 for museum activities in FY
2004 and such sums in subsequent years through 2009.
* Increases the indemnity limits in the Arts and
Artifacts Indemnity Act, facilitating international exchange and display of
works of art, books, rare documents, artifacts and other published
materials.
STATEMENTS FROM CONGRESS
ON PASSAGE OF MUSEUM
AND LIBRARY ACT
“Even with the rise of 24-hour news cycle and
internet blog sites, there will always be the need for a good book. This
bill helps to ensure our libraries do not become a relic of the past, but remain
an important part of our neighborhoods and our culture. Libraries in
communities around the country are set to benefit from this bill. I am
also pleased that this bill will coordinate its action with the school library
provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act, as well as allow funds to be used to
recruit new professionals into the field of library science.” Senator Judd
Gregg Chairman Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and
Pensions
“Approval of the Museum and Library Services Act is an
important bipartisan legislative accomplishment. It’s a strong vote of
confidence in libraries and museums across the country. It tells them we
value the indispensable work they do in their communities to enhance literacy,
encourage learning, promote the arts and make history come alive.” Senator
Edward M. Kennedy, Ranking Member Senate Committee on Health , Education, Labor
and Pensions
"Museums and libraries are rich centers of learning, woven into
the fabric of our communities, big and small, urban and rural. Today's
libraries and museum are places where a love for reading, learning and discovery
are born and renewed again and again. I am proud to continue in the
tradition of my predecessor Senator Pell by working to secure passage of this
legislation to ensure the continued vitality of our nation's museums and
libraries." Senator Jack Reed, Senate Committee on Health, Education,
Labor and Pensions
"The Museum and Library Services Act of 2003 maintains essential
federal assistance to our country's cornerstone learning institutions. Museums
and libraries are fundamental components of strong and healthy communities in
our society and it is important that we help them continue to provide their
invaluable services." Representative Peter Hoekstra, Chairman, House
Subcommittee on Select Education
“This year there will be more than 865 million visits to museums
in America and millions will use their local library for books and other
community services. Libraries and museums play a vital role in educating our
children and promoting communities. Throughout our nation, libraries are
at the forefront of reading and family literacy programs. Libraries are critical
to many people with disabilities, providing them with specialized materials and
resources that are obtainable in a single accessible location. For those with
limited financial resources or who live in remote areas, libraries provide
access available nowhere else to books and reference materials, computer
services, and other community-based services,” continued Boehner. “This
bipartisan effort ensures that museums and libraries across America will
continue to thrive.” Representative John Boehner, Chairman, House
Committee on Education and the Workforce Committee
“Libraries and museums play a vital role in who we are as
Americans. A community with a library or a museum is a community with a
window beyond its own world and into the world around it. As we grow in
the information age, these living institutions play even more important roles in
our lives. I am pleased the Congress and the President have acted to
support the Institute of Museum and Library Services in this reauthorization
bill.” Representative Ralph Regula, Chairman House Appropriations
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies
About the Institute of Museum and Library
Services The Institute is an independent Federal grant-making
agency dedicated to creating and sustaining a nation of learners.
The Institute fosters leadership, innovation, and a lifetime of
learning by supporting the nation's 15,000 museums and 122,000 libraries. The
Institute also encourages partnerships to expand the educational benefit of
libraries and museums. To learn more about the Institute, please log onto:
http://www.imls.gov.
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