Advocacy in Support of Rural Libraries

The American Library Association requests that citizens contact Farm Bill conferees on the Senate and House Agriculture Committees asking them to keep libraries in rural telecommunications section of H.R. 2419. Specifically, ask them to support the Senate version of the Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (H.R. 2419), Section 6302, to include "libraries" in the rural telecommunications program: "Telemedicine, Library Connectivity, and Distance Learning Services in Rural Areas." The conference committee on H.R. 2419 is meeting now and library supporters are needed to keep messages going into the conferees.

Pennsylvania Senator Robert P. Casey is a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nurtition and Forestry and Pennsylvania Representative Tim Holden is on the House Committee on Agriculture. If your Senator or Representative is not one of these two, you are asked to contact your respective Senators and Representatives and ask them to contact Farm Bill conferees to keep libraries in Section 6302 of H.R. 2419.

This amendment acknowledges and would support the important role that public libraries play in providing rural areas access to broadband services, leveling the playing field for rural residents. Read more about it on the ALA Issues & Advocacy website.