What does US federal funding for libraries pay for?

We know that Trump’s previous administration proposed cutting all federal library funding every year he was in office.

We know he and Elon Musk will try to cut it again through the DOGE Presidential Advisory Committee in the coming months.

But what does federal funding pay for, and why does it matter?

You might be surprised.

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Very few Americans know how important IMLS funding is.

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What is IMLS?

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 35,000 museums. IMLS provides grants to libraries that need to replace technology and infrastructure. Many rural and urban communities depend on these grants to continue operations and provide essential community services. In small towns and big cities, museums are vital to sharing the arts, extending our cultural memory, and connecting us with people we’d never otherwise have met. IMLS is a primary source of federal grant funding to extend state and local resources in order to educate students, preserve and digitize collections, and connect families with their communities.

InterLibrary Loan

Do you love that you can order and receive library materials from almost any library in the country? If your local library doesn’t have a book you want, you can order it through interlibrary loan. This program is largely funded and made possible through the Institute of Museum and Library Services. You will probably lose access to this service if IMLS funding is cut!

Talking Book Services

Not many Americans know about the talking book service, a national program for blind, low-vision, and physically disabled Americans. In recent years, the program has developed a mobile app, streamlined its enrollment process in the online database for downloading books, and increased the number of available titles.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) funds the talking book program in about 40 states. The program is administered by the National Library Service (NLS), which is part of the Library of Congress. Find out more about this program here.

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Supporting U.S. Veterans

Many libraries and museums have utilized IMLS funding to preserve veterans’ stories and find new ways to serve them daily.

For example, the California State Library committed some of its Library Services and Technology Act funding to serve veterans through its Veterans Connect @ The Library program. The goal was to educate veterans and their family members about their benefits and refer them to the agencies that can formally award earned benefits, including pensions, compensation, education, employment, improved health, housing, and improved well-being.

Autism Resource Centers

In 2012, the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library System (CLPL) of Mississippi received funds from IMLS to establish a center dedicated to serving youth on the Autism Spectrum. The ARC contains print resources and therapy tools that parents, caregivers, and educators can take home to try with their child, as well as an in-house play area that contains developmentally appropriate toys, including a LEGO table, a chalk walk, a magnetic letter board, a tactile wall, a kitchen and grocery store for social skills, and an auditory station. The area also has three AWE After School Edge learning stations and two iPads containing Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) appropriate apps.

And CLPL’s Autism Resource Center isn’t the only IMLS-funded resource for library patrons on the Autism Spectrum, two more (of the many) examples are Autism Resource Center (Lancaster (PA) Public Library), and Project PALS.

Preservation During Disasters and Emergencies

Preserving priceless and irreplaceable collections during disasters and emergencies is something most members of the public never consider. However, thanks to an IMLS-funded grant Rhode Island’s Office of Information & Library Services (OLIS), “… has offered disaster preparedness and cultural preservation support to a range of institutions, including libraries, museums, archives, and historical societies.” (IMLS blog).

Through training and workshops, OLIS has offered cultural institutions, including libraries, steps beyond an annual emergency plan to protect their valuable resources. Thanks to this training, they will be prepared to care for their collections regardless of whether they encounter an HVAC system failure or a full-out flood.

Tribal Libraries

The IMLS plays a more vital role in sustaining Native American libraries than funding digitization and accessibility of individual collections. Indeed, the very existence of hundreds of tribal libraries depends on federal funding administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. If funding to IMLS is cut off, hundreds of tribal libraries across the country will face closure.

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But that’s not all…

These projects and support of tribal libraries are impressive accomplishments for the IMLS. These examples are not even 1% of the THOUSANDS of similar projects funded through the Institute of Museum and Library Services every year. You can learn more on the IMLS website here.

EveryLibrary
https://www.everylibrary.org/