US library funding package passes House of Representatives

In the US, a $1.2 trillion budget bill, including funding for a number of library programs, has passed the House of Representatives, despite an earlier proposal from President Donald Trump’s administration to cut almost all federal library funding, reports Publishers Weekly.

The bill includes funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which covers Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), as well as the Department of Education’s Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) program. The bill also includes funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities.

American Libraries Association (ALA) officials cautioned that ‘the budget battle is not over’, with the Senate yet to vote on the bill. In an ALA newsletter, officials wrote that ‘once the Senate has acted, the reconciliation process begins with the House, and library supporters everywhere may need to again push hard to retain funding gains made in the Senate’.

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