Call now: "The ALA Message on S. 2696"

Here's the text of information provided to ALA Council II this morning.
Councilors took a mid-morning break during which many members called members of the Senate Commerce Committee. I'll send the members' names in the next blog entry.

Senate Switchboard: 202-224-3121

"Save the E-Rate
1. E-rate discounts are working in our libraries by making affordable telecommunications services available to serve our library users.
2. Oppose Ensign and Sununu amendments or other proposals that seek to cut E-rate funds, limit service covered by E-rate or otherwise restructure USF to weaken E-Rate;
3. Support a permanent exemption for USF programs, including the E-Rate, from compliance with government accounting rules in the Anti-Deficiency Act;

Pass Effective Nework Neutrality.
1. Support Snowe-Dorgan proposals and other amendments that will preserve network neutrality (NN);
2. NN is needed to keep the telecommunications owners from controlling all Internet content and from discrimination against content providers that cannot, nor should not have to pay for assurd public access to their content;
3. Libraries are creators, users and distributors of information and cannot afford to pay for assured access to their services by the American public--example: library web sites and E-government serivces;
4. Public sector concerns have not been adequatley addressed; libraries, eductation, local, state and federal government agencies, as well as other public and non-profits could be discriminated againts and "tiered" into levels of service that deny or delay access to E-government and others services for the American public."