89 Days Remaining

The Institute of Museum and Library Services, IMLS, is a small federal agency with around 70 employees that awards the majority of federal funding for libraries and museums across the United States. You can find what programs have been funded in your state since 2018 on their dashboard. In 2023, monies in Indianapolis went to the Children’s Museum, Newfields Museum (formerly the Indianapolis Museum of Art) and Big Car. Grants to libraries across the country have allowed for a variety of services. The American Library Association (ALA) recently described a few.

• Summer reading programs for kids 
• Early literacy development and grade-level reading programs
• High-speed internet access
• Employment assistance for job seekers 
• Braille and talking books for people with visual impairments
• Homework and research resources for students and faculty
• Veterans’ telehealth spaces equipped with technology and staff support
• STEM programs, simulation equipment and training for workforce development
• Small business support for budding entrepreneurs

IMLS was established under the Museum and Library Services Act and is funded through Congress. The workers are represented by AFGE Local 3403. They have a bargaining unit. Yesterday, all of the employees of this agency were placed on a 90 day temporary leave. Workers were told to take their belongings and not to return to the building without authorization. They no longer have access to their email accounts.

With the IMLS being threatened, I feel a loss for what libraries can do in communities that are already poorly funded. I feel an attack on an institution that provides information and supports literacy, two cornerstones of any democracy. I feel an attack on our democracy.

These attacks are happening in many parts of our country. I fear for those who are facing the threat of floods and tornadoes this spring because 200+ FEMA workers have lost their jobs.  I fear for young children going to school hungry, and returning home even hungrier because school lunch programs have been cut. I fear even more for children in poor performing rural and urban schools whose communities do not have the funds to support special education programs, teacher training, or conduct research to find best practices because again, funds have been cut at the DOE. As an academic librarian, my job faces a bigger threat from cuts to universities at the state level than by this loss to libraries on a national level. But, I value what libraries do, how they provide internet access, computers, books, movies, meeting space, literacy advocacy and instruction, and so much in our communities. These cuts to the backbone of museums and libraries seem to highlight a wanton disregard for this country’s core principles.

We don’t have to accept this; we still have a voice here. We have to remind our elected officials who they represent. Please call them or write them. Let them know how much you value your local museums and libraries. Ask where monies go when positions are limited. I email routinely these days, and I have a set of blank postcards that I need to replenish. I question what will make these leaders choose the legal, moral, and ethical thing to do. And, I question this decision making process.

We need to act quickly before these workers transition from paid leave to unpaid permanently. There are 89 days remaining.

Filed under: Libraries & Schools, Museums &Exhibits, News & Features