National Press Club to Host “NEWSMAKER” Media Briefing on Economic Challenges Facing Nation’s Libraries, American Library Association President to Outline Demand

WASHINGTON, May 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Jim Rettig, president of the American Library Association, will outline the challenges libraries face in coping with sharply higher traffic and steep budget cuts caused by the recession at a National Press Club Newsmakers press conference at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 11, in the Broadcast Operations Center, Suite 480, 529 14th St., N.W.

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As the economy has cratered, the public’s demand for library services has spiked. ALA research shows that libraries now average 115.4 million visits each month. But libraries also are experiencing significant budget cuts.

About 62.2 percent of libraries report aiding job seekers last year, up from 44 percent in 2007, with services such as online job searching, resume building, and job-skills training. Libraries do not charge Internet access fees, which has driven up their popularity. A recent ALA study found that nearly 60 percent of U.S. public libraries report that Internet connection speeds are insufficient to meet patron needs at some point each day.

Rettig will explore how public libraries are well-positioned to advance the $7.2 billion broadband expansion contained in the American Recovery Reinvestment Act.

He also will cover issues that ALA will address during the National Library Legislative Day on May 12, including the implications for libraries of the Google Book Search settlement and the lack of school library policy in the No Child Left Behind Act.

SOURCE National Press Club