Author: Eric Edwards

With a new governor having taken office, the state’s budget situation-already precarious-could become more so, with the potential for many public institutions, among them libraries, to be hit especially hard. Governor Bruce Rauner has inherited a number of crises, including an ongoing operational deficit and a rising state pension debt, both of which have now…

This editorial from The Lancet has a nice overview of the issues that continue to be associated with implementing The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. In particular, the piece focuses on how well the goals of the Affordable Care Act have been met. The main goal is to increase the number of Americans with health insurance. In that…

The American Library Association’s Washington, D.C., office has identified the following issues affecting libraries as being especially crucial during the 114th session of Congress (2015-2017). Appropriations – Maintain level funding for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) in the FY 2016 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill Copyright –…

During the 2014 election cycle, a number of referenda affecting Illinois libraries were placed on the ballot. The purpose of most referenda impacting libraries in Illinois and elsewhere is to increase the number of people who have access to library services. Library access is an especially critical issue in Illinois, since approximately one million of…

The United States Senate just passed this year’s $1.1 trillion budget, by a vote of 56 to 40. (The budget still has to be signed into law by the President.) While it is not entirely clear what impact the budget, as a whole, will have on libraries, one thing is certain: there will be an…

On December 11, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) voted to raise fees on phone users, by about $2.00 per year, in order to increase funding for the E-Rate program. The program provides Internet access to schools in impoverished areas. Currently, annual funding for E-rate is about $2.4 billion; the fee increase will raise funding levels…

Members of a library system may comment on proposed rule changes for library systems. This is in the Dec 5 Illinois Register, page 22526. Your library system has been forwarded this information. My main concern is membership to a library system when the library is totally virtual. If you have any comments, you may attend a…

I am glad to report that the Illinois Senate voted earlier today to override Governor Quinn’s veto of Illinois House Bill 3796. (The vote was by a margin of 39 to 13; a three-fifths majority, or 36 out of a possible 59 votes, was needed.) House Bill 3796 amends the Freedom of Information Act, to…