Hearing about how the North Olympic Library System is going to offer free Microsoft Office suite certification exams again this month (www.nols.org) made me want to publicly thank Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Derek Kilmer for their work to make funding libraries a priority at the federal level.
In the midst of all the turmoil coming out of the “other Washington” it’s great to know that our representatives support the important work done by libraries in their local communities — assisting job-seekers with tech training and certifications, providing high-speed internet access and quality resources both in person and online and supporting education and edification from birth to retirement and beyond.
My husband has benefited from taking these certification exams for free, and my daughter has enjoyed the Imagine Academy events associated with Microsoft certification, funded in part by the federal Library Services and Technology Act.
Libraries play a critical role in communities and I’m glad to live in a place where our representatives understand this.
These federal funds help our local library funding go further and give our community even more resources and opportunity.
I hope to see Sen. Murray and Rep. Kilmer continue to pursue steady or increased funding for the Library Services and Technology Act as we go forward in the budget season, because libraries are worth the investment.
Samantha Hines,
Port Angeles