I am outraged by House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan's
proposal to eliminate IMLS and I urge you to stand against it. As our nation's
strongest funder for museum and library initiatives, IMLS has an important role
to play in supporting our nation's freedom, innovation, and success.
Libraries work to digitize our nation's resources through
programs such as the DPLA that are providing a bridge to the future by
upgrading information to new formats.
They support 21st century invention and learning through new makerspaces
and by helping to facilitate the exchange of ideas. Libraries support the
freedom of information for all, which is vital to any democracy. They support
strong communities and help our children's understanding of good digital
citizenship. They provide a safe and supportive place for those less fortunate,
and help them better their futures with access to technology and informational
materials they cannot afford. Libraries serve as a neutral gathering space for
diverse ideas, providing forums that support critical thinking and expression
for all regardless of background or personal belief.
As the librarian at Goffstown High School in New Hampshire, I see the results
of what good community libraries do every day. I work with my colleagues at the
Goffstown Public Library to positively impact the lives of our teens. We
collaborate to run programs that bring mentors in to support our children's
dreams. We work together to bring in materials to ignite passion in innovation,
developing makerspaces with high-tech equipment for our students to use for
experimentation and learning; materials they could not afford on their own. We
support informational and cultural literacy through our collections and
services.
Our profession cannot effectively accomplish all we do
without IMLS support. According to the Industrialist Andrew Carnegie, the
builder of many of our nation’s libraries, “A library outranks any other one
thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in
the desert.” Libraries have supported our communities since founding father Ben
Franklin established our country’s first library in Philadelphia. Please help
ensure that American libraries may continue to boost their communities and
support the American citizens within them.
Sincerely,
Melissa Mannon
Thank you to Mr. Guinta's office for responding by phone to an email I sent him on this matter. His office expressed Mr. Guinta's support for libraries during the call. I hope to see an expression of that support on the house floor at some point.
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