Committee Approves Bill to Support Libraries and Museums

The Museum and Library Services Act, introduced by Select Education Subcommittee

Chairman Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) and Rep. Tim Roemer (D-IN), modifies and streamlines

current law to strengthen museum and library services. The bill also ensures

that library services are coordinated with activities under the No Child

Left Behind Act that President Bush signed into law on January 8, 2002.

The bill authorizes $300 million for libraries in FY 2003, $50 million for museums

in FY 2003 and such sums for both libraries and museums in FYs 2004-2008.

First Lady Laura Bush, a former librarian, supports reauthorization of the

Museum and Library Services Act.

“H.R. 3784 continues the main objectives of the Museum and Library Services

Act of 1996,” said Hoekstra. “The reauthorization bill will maintain the modest

but essential federal support, in partnership with state, local, private, and

public sources, for museum and library contributions to public education services

and stewardship of the nation’s cultural heritage collections. “It will fund

the one federal agency-the Institute of Museum and Library Services-devoted

exclusively to museums and libraries, which are natural partners with our nation’s

schools, and it will sustain provisions to encourage model cooperation between

museums and libraries as no other legislation does,”Hoekstra said.

The MLSA bill introduced by Hoekstra and Roemer makes several modifications

to current law to streamline and strengthen museum and library services. The

bill:

• Ensures that library activities are coordinated with activities under the

  No Child Left Behind Act that President Bush signed into law on January

  8;

• Eliminates references to the National Commission on Libraries and Information

  Science and consolidates its advisory responsibilities under the Museum Services

  Board, which will expand to include library services. The purpose of this

  change is to consolidate museum and library board activities under one statute;

• Authorizes the Institute of Museum and Library Services Director to grant

  a National Award for Library Service and a National Award for Museum Service;

• Ensures that administrative funds are also used to conduct annual analyses

  to identify needs and trends of services provided under museum and library

  programs; and

• Increases the minimum state allotment for library programs to $500,000 (roughly

  a 46 percent increase from current law).