William Morris
Executive Assistant to the State Librarian & Legislative Liaison
May, 2008
National Library Legislative Day 2008
Ten enthusiastic library advocates from Ohio joined hundreds of colleagues from across the country for the 34th annual National Library Legislative Day on Wednesday, May 14, in Washington DC. The American Library Association sponsored the event.
The group, representing libraries across the state, informed Ohio members of Congress about the current state of affairs in Ohio libraries. The main message was one of thanks for previous support of funding for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and encouragement to support the President’s FY 09 request of $214.43 million. Funding at that level will ensure an increase to Ohio’s LSTA award. LSTA funds have been used to help Ohio libraries in a variety of ways including supporting the Libraries Connect Databases, a statewide competitive grants program, Statewide Resource Sharing efforts, the KnowItNow 24/7 online reference service and NetWellness Ohio’s premier health information website. In addition to telling the Ohio story, the participants carried specific messages on several issues of importance to libraries at the national level which are covered in more detailed articles in this newsletter.
2008 Ohio Delegates to National Library Legislative Day
- Tom Adkins, Director, Director, Garnet Wilson Public Library ofPike County
- Jo Budler, State Librarian, State Library of Ohio
- Theresa Byrd, CIO & Director of Libraries at Ohio Wesleyan University
- Jim Crawford, Director, Ida Rupp Public Library (Port Clinton)
- Kim Fender, Director, Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County
- Steve Marine, Executive Director, Netwellness, University of Cincinnati
- Gail Marredeth, Health Sciences Librarian, Cleveland State University
- Bill Morris, Executive Assistant to the State Librarian, State Library of Ohio
- Kent Oliver, Director, Stark County District Library
- Ann Watson, Head of Instruction and Access Services, Denison University
Left to Right: Steve Marine, Ann Watson, Theresa Byrd, Jo Budler, Jim Crawford, Tom Adkins, Kent Oliver, Kim Fender