WASHINGTON, DC – In an effort to strengthen library and museum services across the nation, U.S. Senator Jack Reed is introducing the bipartisan Museum and Library Services Act of 2016 (S. 3391) along with Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS), and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).  This critical bill renews and builds on our $230 million commitment to the federal museum and library programs administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. 

“Libraries and museums are rich centers of learning, woven into the fabric of our communities and they contribute to our quality of life and economic development.  The Museum and Library Services Act represents our national commitment to ensuring these institutions are funded, staffed, and accessible to all.  Through a relatively modest federal investment, this law helps build capacity to support and expand access to library and museum services at the state and local level.  It will help fully leverage the role of libraries and museums in supporting the learning, educational, and workforce development needs of Americans nationwide,” said Reed, who noted that, since the last reauthorization in 2010, Rhode Island libraries and museums have received over $8.4 million in federal grants from these programs.  This year alone, Rhode Island received $660,000 in federal grants from the law, including:  Providence Public Library ($530,000); Providence Children's Museum ($25,000); Preservation Society of Newport County ($99,500); and Tomaquag Museum ($5,000), which was one of ten recipients nationally to be recognized with a 2016 National Medal for Museum and Library Service. 

Reed’s bill highlights the role of libraries and museums as community hubs, equipped to meet ever evolving community needs. 

In an effort to update the law to help museums and libraries improve their technology, enhance collaboration, and better serve the public and communities, the reauthorization bill will:

•  Require the use of data driven tools, including research, analysis and modeling, evaluation, and dissemination, to measure the impact and maximize the effectiveness of library and museum services, build capacity, and better tailor services to address and meet community needs. 

•  Provide technical support and assistance to help libraries and museums collect and analyze data.

•  Enhance IMLS’s collaborative efforts with an expanded number of federal agencies in order to fully leverage the role of libraries and museums in supporting and meeting the needs of Americans.

•  Increase the amount set aside for Native American Library Services.

•  Boost the ability of libraries to serve as anchor institutions to support community revitalization and provide services in such areas as literacy, education, lifelong learning, workforce development, economic and business development, digital literacy skills critical thinking, and financial literacy skills, and new and emerging technology.

•  Add focuses for the awarding of National Leadership grant funds on activities that serve a range of library types and geographically diverse areas; include evaluation, analysis, and dissemination components; and actively involve, have direct impact on, or provide future application in libraries.

•  Provide greater emphasis on recruiting and training of the next generation of library and information science professionals from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds.  The bill also authorizes activities to improve the recruitment, preparation, and professional development of museum professionals, especially those from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds.  And it encourages partnerships with other agencies, professional networks, and community-based organizations to expand and enhance access to museum services.

According to the American Library Association, there were 1.5 billion in-person visits to public libraries across the United States in 2015.

The American Alliance of Museums reports that there are nearly 850 million visits per year to American museums, and that U.S. museums inject approximately $21 billion into the economy each year.

Twenty years ago, in 1996, then-U.S. Senator Claiborne Pell (D-RI) was instrumental in crafting the first Museum and Library Services Act.  This year also marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the first federal program of direct support to public libraries and the 40th anniversary of the creation of the Institute of Museum Services to provide assistance to museums.

Senator Reed wrote the last Museum and Library Service Act reauthorization law, which President Obama signed in 2010.  This year’s reauthorization must be passed by both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives before it can be sent to the President to be signed into law.