The Library Services and Construction Act, enacted in 1962 by the U.S. Congress, provides federal assistance to libraries

Library

In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...

 in the United States for the purpose of improving or implementing library services or undertaking construction projects.

Aim

Influenced by the civil rights movement

Civil rights movement

The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...

 of the 1960s, a primary aim of the Library Services and Construction Act was to provide funding for underserved and/or disadvantaged communities in need of library service. Some of these groups include but are not limited to the institutionalized, the physically handicapped, low-income families, senior citizens, and ethnic minorities.

Reauthorizations

In its thirty year history, the Library Services and Construction Act has undergone numerous reauthorizations. Each amendment has been dictated by changing needs in the library community, and these needs have been identified and voiced by state librarians and public library directors alike. Some of these amendments include appropriations for literacy

Literacy

Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...

 programs and the acquisition of foreign-language materials. While changes to the Library Services and Construction Act have sought to keep this piece of legislation current, through the years many have voiced opposition to certain aspects of this act.

Modifications

Federally funded, many programs for the purpose of educational and social development have more traditionally been a fiscal responsibility of each individual state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

. Though with shrinking state budgets, a shift to a state-funded program for library services and construction seemed somewhat unfeasible. Additionally, a re-examination of which library services should be preserved and which should be abandoned has been suggested. Perhaps as a result of this opposition, in 1995 the LSCA was replaced by the Library Services and Technology Act

Library Services and Technology Act

The Library Services and Technology Act was signed on October 1, 1996 by United States President Bill Clinton. LSTA is a United States federal library grant program. Its roots come from the Library Services Act that was first enacted in 1956. LSTA replaced the Library Services and Construction Act...

(LSTA), dropping construction from the federal funding available.

Funded programs

Its change of title in 1995 notwithstanding, numerous library programs and services have been initiated by funds through the Library Services and Construction Act, and continue to depend on those funds for their existence. An example of one program funded through the LSCA is Project PLUS (Promoting Larger Units of Service). This program uses federal funding so that library systems can demonstrate the services of a library to a group of unserved residents, so that they may experience what services and resources would be available to them if a referendum was passed in their community and a library was established. While programs such as Project PLUS have provided success stories from the funds provided by the LSCA, discussion will undoubtedly continue as to the legitimacy and necessity of federal funds for libraries throughout the country.