On March 14, a presidential executive order dictated that the IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Services) and other agencies be eliminated “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.” On March 31, the entire staff of the IMLS was put on leave. What is the IMLS? The IMLS is a small federal agency with around 70 employees that awards grant funding to museums and libraries in the United States. Library funding draws less than 0.003% of the annual federal budget yet has enormous impact on communities nationwide.
The Nahant Public Library is a small library, so we request books every day for our patrons from other MA libraries across the state from Comcat (the Commonwealth Catalog). The continuation of this service could be lost without the help of IMLS. This could mean Nahant patrons would lose access to millions of books and materials they currently have access to and request now.
The Nahant Public Library has benefited for over many years from numerous IMLS grants and awards (everything from preservation projects, tick-borne diseases grants, and nature grants). We also benefit from services and funding from MBLC (the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners) which is in part funded by IMLS.
On top of losing access to millions of books and materials state-wide by not having the Commonwealth Catalog, and access to thousands (or hundreds of thousands of dollars) in future grant funding, Nahant could also lose access to free eBooks, free databases, and more. IMLS directly helps the Nahant Public Library, MA libraries, and libraries across the country.
The American Library Association has resources for those of our patrons who would like to learn more or take action. You can also sign the petition on EveryLibrary here. Please share what you love about your library here with local legislators. Most important of all, please continue to use the library, and encourage those you know to use their local libraries as well to demonstrate what a valuable contribution to communities they continue to be.