On May 5 and 6, 1997, the 23rd annual National Library Legislative Day was held in Washington, D.C. Carol Henderson, Director of the ALA Washington Office reports that nearly 500 librarians and library supporters attended the event to visit congressional offices and focus a spot light on library issues. Legislative Day was sponsored by the District of Columbia Library Association, the ALA Washington Office, and other participating organizations.

Monday, May 5 was an all day briefing session in which ideas were exchanged with Washington area experts and ALA Washington Office staff to prepare for the next day's congressional visits. During the briefing session various import topics were discussed, including proposals to update Title 44 and the Federal Depository Library Program. Susan Harris, a first amendment attorney, described the current situation concerning intellectual freedom and legislative attempts to require Internet censorship.

On the morning of Tuesday, May 6, Friends of the Library USA President Heather Cameron presented public service awards to Senator Jim Jeffords (R-VT) and Representative William Goodling (R-PA) for their work on the passage of the Library Services and Technology Act. The major part of the day was devoted to meeting with congressional members. New Hampshire was represented by State Librarian, Kendall F. Wiggin, and Matthew Higgins, Federal Relations Coordinator for the New Hampshire Library Association. The New Hampshire contingent was able to meet with members of the state's congressional delegation and their aides or assistants. Issues discussed during the visit included funding for the Library Services and Technology Act; discounted telecommunications rates/universal service under the Telecommunications Act of 1996; public access to government information through the Federal Depository Program; and copyright and intellectual property issues.

The day closed with a champagne reception which gave the participants an opportunity to chat with members of Congress and their staff to reinforce the day's message. In addition to members of Congress and the congressional staff, special guests included officials from the Department of Education, the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, and the Library of Congress.