[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 63 (Thursday, April 11, 2019)]
[Senate]
[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

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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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