How many conferences have you been to in the past three years that dealt with the issues facing academic libraries: technology, change, organizational and educational culture, copyright, leadership, the Internet, etc.? Changes in information technology are forcing great organizational changes in academic libraries and their parent institutions. These changes are the prime reason we need legislative support and funding. This isnÕt newsÑwe are all living it every day.

I was curious to know how other academic directors and librarians saw the general and legislative issues affecting their libraries. So I asked them. My informal survey of four-year and community college library directors and librarians revealed the following four key issues:

• Funding and technology support
• Technology and rapid change
• Staffing issues
• Distance education

While some differences emerged between the interests of directors and librarians (directors are concerned about access v. ownership and eager to move toward electronic information services, while librarians are concerned that administrators involve them in decisions and meet training needs), the four common issues noted above permeate all concerns.

I also asked about legislative priorities and found these core concerns are reflected there as well. Funding, filtering and the Internet, copyright, and the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund were the legislative issues that both librarians and directors felt were important. The importance of establishing partnerships among library entities was identified as a high priority. Several areas were mentioned for which directors desired additional funding. TexShare had the highest priority, but respondents also mentioned higher education with permanent line item library funding at individual institutions, funding for Texas State Library and Archives Commission training in Texas libraries, formula funding for community colleges, and funding for literacy and reading programs.

Among the legislative agenda items TLA will pursue in the upcoming session are additional funding for TexShare (from the current $1 million to $3.1 million in the State Library and Archives Commission budget request, see page 165) and reform of academic library purchasing rules. What can you do to help achieve these goals? I sug-gest the following:

1. Be familiar with the library and higher education issues in the upcoming session (URLs for back-ground information provided at the end of this article.) Decide what is important to you and act on your beliefs.
2. As an individual, realize that you can and must make a difference. DonÕt leave your future to others.
3. Take responsibility, take actionÑonly you can do this. Jump in! Contact your senator and representative, the governor and lieutenant governor, and let them know how you feel about these issues.
4. Know that you are a representative of your library and responsible for its service to the community, faculty, and staff. If you donÕt speak out for their needs, they will not be heard.
5. Take action: join groups that affect legislative issues. Request permission to attend TLA Legislative Day, February 23, 1999.
6. Directors: expect that staff should take interest and join you in lobbying for Texas libraries. Together you can make a team that will take charge of the future of Texas libraries.

Internet sites of interest on legislative issues affecting Texas academic libraries:

• Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board: http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/
• Texas Library Association Government Affairs: http://www.txla.org/html/govt_aff.html
• Texas Library Association College and University Libraries Division: http://www.txla.org/groups/culd/legisla.htm
• TexShare: http://www.texshare.utexas.edu/
• Texas Association of Community Colleges Legislative Priorities: http://www.tacc.org/legislative_priorities.html
• Find your state representative and senator at: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/
• ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries) legislative policy web site: http://www.ala.org/acrl/legalis.html Elaine Sanchez is chair of the College and University Libraries Division of TLA.

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