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WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a major victory for libraries, museums, and lifelong learning opportunities, Maine Sen. Susan Collins joined the bipartisan effort to pass the Museum and Library Services Act. The legislation was introduced by Collins, R-Maine, as well as senators Jack Reed, D-R.I.; Lisa Murkowski, R-Ark. and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. Main Sen. Angus King was a cosponsor of the bill.
The legislation passed the Senate unanimously and passed the House 331-28, and builds on the $240 million commitment to the federal museum and library programs administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, an independent federal agency that helps museums and libraries across the country advance their educational missions, deliver services, preserve history, and make their collections more accessible. IMLS supports programs at more than 120,000 libraries and 35,000 museums nationwide.
“Public libraries and museums are central community institutions in Maine and throughout the country,” said Collins in a news release. “Increasingly, libraries have emerged as hubs not just for literacy and Internet access, but for workforce support and community activities. The bipartisan Museum and Library Services Act represents a commitment to supporting libraries and museums that do more than accumulate artifacts – they tell stories that enrich our communities and inspire the minds of future generation. Our legislation bolsters that commitment.”
The legislation highlights the role of libraries and museums as community hubs equipped to meet ever evolving community needs. Updating the law to help museums and libraries improve their technology, enhance collaboration, and better serve the public and communities, the reauthorization will:
* Strengthen the use of data driven tools to measure the impact and maximize the effectiveness of library and museum services, build capacity, and better tailor local services to address and meet community needs.
* Enhance IMLS’s collaborative efforts with an expanded number of federal agencies to fully leverage the role of libraries and museums in supporting and meeting the needs of Americans.
* Increase the reservation for Services for Native Americans to more closely match appropriations.
* Recognize the roles of libraries as community hubs, serving evolving and diverse community needs (including those of rural residents, individuals with disabilities, Native Americans, veterans, military families, and caregivers, among others) in such areas as literacy; education; lifelong learning; health information; workforce development; economic and business development; digital literacy and financial literacy; and new and emerging technology.
* Enable increases in library formula funding to be shared more broadly across states, while ensuring no state loses funding.
* Emphasizes recruiting and training of the next generation of library and information science professionals – necessary for an information economy – from a broad range of backgrounds.
* Authorize activities to improve the recruitment, preparation, and professional development of museum professionals to preserve heritage for future generations.
* Highlight the educational role of museums and the ways that museums engage and strengthen their communities.
* Encourage partnerships with other agencies, professional networks, and community-based organizations to leverage museum services in service to the nation.
The American Alliance of Museums reports that there are nearly 850 million visits a year to American museums and that U.S. museums inject approximately $21 billion into the economy each year.
