>From Gloria Meraz at the Texas Library Association. Laurie
Laurie Mahaffey, Deputy Director Central Texas Library System, Inc. 1005 West 41st Street Austin, Texas 78756 www.ctls.net [email protected] 512-583-0704 x18 800-262-4431 x18 ________________________________ From: Gloria Meraz [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, December 16, 2009 2:55 PM To: Public Libraries Division Subject: [pld] FW: Texline 256: URGENT CALL TO ACTION: Jobs for Main Street Bill (federal)-Proposal to Include Librarian Jobs Importance: High TLA TEXLINE NO. 256 - TEXAS LIBRARY ASSOCIATION LEGISLATIVE ISSUES NETWORK In this issue: Jobs for Main Street Bill-Proposal to Include Librarian Jobs Posted: December 16, 2009 In this issue I. Jobs for Main Street Bill-Proposal to Include Librarian Jobs I. Jobs for Main Street Bill-Proposal to Include Librarian Jobs The American Library Association has just sent out the following information. The Jobs for Main Street Bill is coming to the House floor today (much sooner than expected). Library supporters are urged to contact their U.S. Congressman today and both Senators tomorrow to get librarian jobs included in the Main Street Jobs Bill. The American Library Association has made a proposal to include librarian jobs in the bill by requesting that $650 million be appropriated to the Institute of Museum and Library Services for that purpose. Go to the Legislative Action Center to access your representatives directly http://capwiz.com/ala/home/ <http://capwiz.com/ala/home/> TALKING POINTS: Libraries and librarians are at the forefront of helping the unemployed obtain needed job skills and look for work. Since libraries are the only source of no-fee Internet access for 71 percent of Americans, libraries are becoming the center of job searches for the unemployed. Since many job applications are now submitted online, a lack of Internet access could mean a lack of opportunity to apply for jobs. Unfortunately, these services are being threatened as librarians are losing their jobs due to state and local budget shortfalls. Without staff, libraries are often forced to reduce hours or even close, which limits the ability of the unemployed to access resources at the times they need it most. Please include $650 million for libraries that the American Library Association has proposed in the Jobs for Main Street Act. The additional funds would enable libraries to restore jobs and hire new staff, which would lead to increased hours and resources for the public. The public would then be able to use the free Internet access to look for jobs, take advantage of library classes to develop job skills, use the small business resources to build business plans, and much more. ******************************************************* TLA-Texline is an irregular publication of the Texas Library Association mailed directly to members interested in legislative and governmental issues affecting libraries. To subscribe, contact Gloria Meraz, Director of Communications, Texas Library Association, [email protected]. ******************************************************* You are currently subscribed to pld as: [email protected]. Subscription is automatic, based on member preferences. If you would like to be removed from all of your unit distribution lists, please update your membership setting "I do not want to be automatically subscribed to my Unit electronic distribution list(s)" via the Modify Membership Information/Choices found in the Members Only Section of www.txla.org.
