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Library Issues At The Federal Level: An Introduction To Ala's Washington Office And The Committee On Legislation, Ann Dutton Ewbank, Turner Masland, Christian Zabriskie

Library Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this white paper, we outline the federal legislative agenda of the American Library Association, crafted by members and operationalized by the Washington-based ALA Office of Government Relations, which lobbies on behalf of the Association. We discuss how policy is made in ALA, including the work of the Committee on Legislation. We then explain the federal legislative issues that are advanced by ALA through the Washington Office. These include: appropriations, privacy/surveillance, access to government information, copyright, school libraries, and telecommunications. We conclude with information on how to become an advocate for federal legislative issues critical to libraries, their patrons and …