You can imagine my surprise when I received a cell phone call yesterday from a staffer at U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s office in Washington. Rep. Wasserman Schultz’s office was calling to "correct the record" about the funding emergency facing the Talking Books program for the Blind. Apparently the folks in her office were aware of my two posts about the funding emergency that now threatens the future of books for people with reading related disabilities.
I was hoping of course to hear that the dire news about the appropriations committees decision regarding the Talking Books program had been completely misreported and that the funding needed by the Library of Congress to continue the National Library Service was already in place.
But in fact the funding that was authorized by the committee chaired by Rep. Wasserman Schultz has only given the National Library Service for the Blind approximately one third of the funding they will need to continue the program. This is a fact. You can look it up.
Apparently there was an inaccuracy in my post according to the Representative’s office, namely that the committee did not authorize the director of the Library of Congress to spend money for the Talking Books program on other programs. Aha! Here’s what they did.
The money targeted for the blind services (which is still only a third of what’s needed to continue the program, remember?) can ONLY be spent on something else if the director of the Library of Congress goes back to the committee and receives permission.
Now that’s really reassuring. I feel so much better today.
I urge my readers and friends to campaign vigorously for the full funding of the Talking Books program and please don’t let up. Taking books away from the blind and elderly is unacceptable. Period.
S.K.
Planet of the Blind 