Fundamental library services are “in jeopardy” due to an executive order signed by President Donald Trump this month targeting the Institute of Museum and Library Services, or IMLS.
The IMLS was one of seven government entities that “shall be eliminated to the maximum extent,” according to the March 14 order.
Summer reading programs and online databases for rural public and school libraries in the Commonwealth are in the crosshairs. Access to government information for greater transparency, to original documents from Virginia’s past and to equitable services for libraries big and small, hang in the balance under the guise of “unnecessary federal bureaucracy.”
“The Library of Virginia is dismayed to learn of the planned elimination of the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS). IMLS funding, which accounts for 16% of the Library of Virginia’s budget, is essential in ensuring all Virginians have access to fundamental library services,” said Dennis T. Clark, Librarian of Virginia since January 2024. “Rural public and school libraries in particular depend on the online databases, summer reading programs and interlibrary loans that IMLS funding provides.”
In 2024, the state received more than $9.7 million in funding from IMLS with nearly $4.3 million in funds dedicated to a grants to state program administered by the Library of Virginia. The grants to state program funding supports public and school libraries throughout Virginia.
“Libraries are the nexus of community and civic engagement, and are available to every Virginian, regardless of education, income or status and the elimination of the IMLS puts that in jeopardy,” Clark said.
The executive order required the head of IMLS to submit a report to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget by March 21 confirming full compliance with the order.
The federal fiscal year ends on Sept. 30. Clark said he expects the funding for the grants to state program will remain available until then. However, all other funding, the majority of what Virginia receives, “would likely be considered discretionary, and its continued funding is a concern at this time.”
The law that authorizes the IMLS, the Museum and Library Services Act, was already set to expire this year, he said, and given the intent of the executive order, seems unlikely to be reauthorized.
The IMLS funding supports 30-35 positions which amounts to 25 percent of the Library of Virginia workforce.
Clark said that it is “extremely unlikely” that the Library of Virginia would be able to make up the difference in funds to provide services to public libraries in the state.
For local libraries, he said, that means that the programs offered through the grants to state program “would cease or greatly diminish.”
Local impact of elimination of IMLS
Public libraries in Staunton, Waynesboro and Augusta County are bracing for the impact of the elimination of IMLS.
While operational costs for libraries are largely funded by the localities they are in, a number of programs and training opportunities are provided though IMLS and are at risk.
“Any elimination of IMLS funding for the Library of Virginia will eventually trickle down to be a loss for us locally,” said Sarah Skrobis, Director of Library Services for the City of Staunton. “If the cuts go through, our staff will need to have conversations about which databases or resources we still want to offer and how to reallocate our collection and database budget lines to absorb those costs.
“We wouldn’t know the exact financial impact on SPL until we learn what the Library of Virginia would cut or maintain,” she said. “Overall, it could potentially mean fewer new items and electronic resources as we stretch our local and state dollars.”
Nearby, one resource that is widely utilized in Augusta County is Find It VA, a collection of electronic resources that provides research databases, career tools and educational materials to library patrons throughout Virginia, said Jennifer Brown, Augusta County Public Library director. The ACPL has a main branch in Fishersville but also has locations in Churchville, Craigsville, Deerfield, Middlebrook, Stuarts Draft and Weyers Cave.
Another potential loss would be in professional development, she said. The Library of Virginia has a development and networking division that provides access to training opportunities for all staff levels that otherwise the library likely couldn’t afford.
“The potential elimination of IMLS funding would have a devastating impact on libraries across Virginia, including our ability to provide critical resources like those available through Find It VA,” Brown told AFP. “These resources, which include online databases, educational materials and digital media, are essential for fostering learning, research, community and civic engagement.
“Without this funding, we risk losing access to tools that empower our patrons, not only in Augusta County but across the state of Virginia, to expand their knowledge and achieve their educational and personal goals.”
Waynesboro Public Library Director Susan Versen did not respond to a request made yesterday for comment on the pending cuts. Versen made a short presentation to Waynesboro City Council Monday night highlighting the work of the library in advance of a resolution to recognize National Library Week in the city April 6 to 12.
Versen did address the importance of IMLS at a recent Friends of the Library meeting.
The library was closed on Monday for staff training.
The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library in Staunton also did not respond to a request for information on the potential impact of the closure. However, a search of the IMLS database showed WWPL has received limited funding from the agency.
- In 2022, WWPL received $47,000 to develop and implement education programs and resources that focus on history and civic engagement.
- In 2020, WWPL received $116,000 to design programs for teachers and the public in response to the disruption in education resulting from COVID.
- In 2007, WWPL received nearly $150,000 from the Museums for America program. No details were provided on the scope of that project or how the funds were used.
Virginia library programs funded by IMLS
The Library of Virginia produced an infographic to highlight programs funded through the Library Services and Technology Act, or LSTA.
- Reading programs: Programming for more than 2.7 million Virginians in 2024, fosters improved academic performance and higher test scores
- Early learning and literacy: Prepares Virginia’s children to enter school with pre-reading skills, provides libraries with tools to support their youngest patrons and their families
- E-rate discounts: Brings affordable Internet and telecommunication services to public libraries in Virginia, especially in areas where it is most needed
- Find It VA: 24/7 free access to information in dozens of licensed databases to the public at home, work, school or local public libraries
- 21st Century libraries and librarians: Helps libraries and librarians stay current with technology and the skills essential to meeting the needs of communities
- Document bank for educators: Help schools develop critical thinkers through the analysis of original documents from Virginia’s past
- Government information: Takes on changes in technology and how government conducts its business to find new and better ways to keep Virginia’s government transparent and accessible to citizens
- Discovery systems for smaller libraries: Ensures smaller, financially challenged libraries can offer their citizens the same access to information, collections and resources and any of the big, better-funded counterparts in the state
- Sharing Virginia’s history and culture: Offering 12 million digital images covering 400 years of history accessed by 4.5 million users annually
Breaking it down: Grants to state program funding for Virginia libraries
The last seven years of data regarding specific IMLS grants and projects in Virginia and elsewhere is available online.
- Find It VA -$1,615,589 (online databases available in every school and public library focused on students at all levels as well as job seekers)
- Information technology support – $712,817 (infrastructure and technical support for all Library of Virginia digital and physical collections)
- Cultural heritage access and engagement – $335,601 (visual studies digitization, transcription, training and events)
- 21st Century work skills – $221,164 (public library staff training resources, library directors’ meetings)
- Leadership and stakeholder development – $207,421 (library director and trustee training, community outreach training, public library administration support)
- Summer reading programs – $184,241 (summer reading program materials, nature backpacks, newsletters, youth literacy materials)
- Public library infrastructure – $171,259 (website hosting and web development support, the Deaf Culture Digital Library)
- Electronic records and open data – $159,501 (web archiving, electronic records processing, training)
- Virginia newspaper program – $156,378 (digitization and searchable access to Virginia’s regional newspapers)
- Lifelong learning – $154,131 (Training in use of primary sources and civic engagement events)
- Adult services consulting -$74,240 (online learning scholarships, training, listservs, newsletters)
- Interlibrary loan – $69,804 (service that allows the public library community and other organizations to obtain resources not readily available in their local community)
- Public library data – $58,898 (software, consulting and training)
- E-rate support – $11,844 (support for broadband adoption, system and technology upgrades)
- Document bank – $10,714 (searchable site containing important Virginia documents, organized by historic era, theme and the Virginia Standards of Learning)
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For more coverage, search “Institute of Museum and Library Services” on Augusta Free Press.
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Crystal Graham
