The Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has been in the news a lot lately. On March 14, President Trump issued an Executive Order stating that IMLS "shall be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law."
IMLS is the nation’s only federal agency for America’s libraries and provides critical funding to libraries across the country. Funding for IMLS makes up only 0.003% of the federal budget, but translates to grants, cost-sharing services, and other supports for 125,000 US libraries, which together, host 1.2 billion in-person patron visits every year, and many more virtual visits.
Here at ELPL, most of our funding comes from a voter-approved property tax millage. In 2022, our community voted 85% "yes!" to fund our library for the next ten years. This means that our overall budget will stay fairly steady over the next several years; we don’t expect personnel cuts or reduced hours.
However, we do still rely on funds from IMLS and the Library of Michigan to provide you with many of the services we love. Without IMLS funds, we will lose access to these. Here are some of the services that will likely be affected.
In Michigan, IMLS funds support:
- Interlibrary Loan Through MeLCat: Physical books and other items are shared between 435 Michigan libraries. If we don't have a book in our collection, we can ship it directly to our library from another participating library, conveniently making it available for you to read for free. One million items were loaned throughout Michigan through MeLCat in 2024.
- MeL eContent: Access to subscription magazines, newspapers, reference books, eBooks, and more on a wide range of topics for all age groups at MeL.org. In 2024, Michigan residents accessed 19.2 million trusted articles and journals through MeL.
- Workforce Development: On-demand access to practice tests, tutorials, and preparation materials for K-16 students in LearningExpress at MeL.org. This resource also provides resume and cover letter assistance for job seekers. Additionally, it offers study guides for the US citizenship test and other resources for immigrants.
- Early Literacy Support: Summer reading and early literacy materials and training for public librarians to support family literacy, which supported 651,603 visits in fiscal year 2023 by children to early literacy programs in Michigan’s public libraries.
- Michigan Activity Pass: A program that provides free or reduced rate access to cultural and recreation sites across the state.
- Improved Local Community Services: Training for librarians, better buying power and negotiating rates with vendors, and other efficiencies.
- Local History Support: Training and materials to assist libraries, museums, and historical societies in preserving their community local history.
Without federal funding, access to these services will be substantially reduced or eliminated entirely.
The Library of Michigan also supports statewide initiatives and competitive grant programs for libraries with federal funds received under the Museum and Library Services Act of 2018. Our native fish tank in the Maker Studio was made possible through one of these grants, allowing our community to learn more about our local ecology and mid-Michigan waterways.
We’re still figuring out all the ways in which this executive order will affect our library. We’ll keep this page updated as we learn more.
If you have any questions or comments, please reach out and we’ll be happy to talk more.
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