[April 14, 2025] Last week was National Library Week, a time to celebrate public libraries all across the country, including the Grand Marais Public Library, here at home. That same week, our library received word from The American Library Association (ALA) that The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) was being dismantled, following a Presidential Executive Order issued in March. The IMLS is the only agency that provides federal funding to libraries, and according to the ALA, comprises less than 0.003% of the annual federal budget. By April 1st, nearly all staff within the agency were placed on administrative leave and, as a result, all processing of grants has been suspended.
What impact does this Executive Order have on small, rural libraries like ours?
As explained on the Grand Marais Public Library website, federal IMLS funds go to Minitex, a state library services agency. Minitex enhances resource sharing and information access across the state, such as providing the eLibrary Minnesota database, which was accessed 55 million times in 2024. Other resources like Ebooks Minnesota and the Minnesota Digital Library would be at risk without this funding. Minitex also supports Library Services and Technology Act grants that help small libraries launch new programs to promote equity, workforce development, and information access.
Grand Marais Public Library patrons should also know that Minitex runs MNLink, the statewide interlibrary loan system that extends our local collection of 24,000 items to 10 million materials, including academic texts, specialty topics, and historical documents.
And though funding for the IMLS was included in the Continuing Resolution passed by Congress allocating funding through September 2025, the loss of staff at the agency has rendered services difficult, if not impossible. If you appreciate the work of public libraries and having access to a full round of services, here’s how you can help: Please call your members of Congress and urge them to protect federal funding for libraries by preventing the dismantling of the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS). To follow news about this issue, visit the Grand Marais Public Library website at: www.grandmaraislibrary.org. Find more details at the American Library Association: https://www.ala.org/faq-executive-order-targeting-imls
Thank you for supporting local library services now and into the future!
Sincerely,
The Friends of the Cook County Public Library
Federal Library Support Threatened
On March 14 President Trump issued an Executive Order eliminating seven federal agencies to the maximum degree permitted by law. This order included the Institute of Museums and Libraries. So why should you care?
Ask just about anybody in any small-town USA, and you will hear “We Love Our Library!” Along with our schools, libraries serve as an essential resource for education, cultural enrichment, and social connection. Libraries offer a variety of information services to meet the needs and interests of all ages and life circumstances. It’s no surprise that librarians, as the face of library services, are some of the most beloved people in our communities and why library usage remains strong in the digital age.
Libraries sponsor preschool literacy and youth programs, adult and career education, onsite computer and internet access, interlibrary loan for books anywhere in Minnesota through the MN LINK program, access to education and research resources for students and adults though elibrary Minnesota and Ebooks Minnesota which provides access to digital books for schools and home-schooled youth.
While libraries are largely funded though state and local tax dollars, in 2022 Minnesota received 3.2M from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. These federal funds supported a statewide library catalog, coordination of statewide interlibrary delivery for books, statewide access to databases and eBook collections, development of a statewide digital archive, training for library media specialists and salary and operating costs for the Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library-all services that no local library can perform. Federal dollars have been the critical resource in facilitating a robust interlibrary system in support of local libraries and their customers. The President’s Executive Order is short sighted and puts all these services at risk.
If you love your library, it’s time to speak up. Contact you’re your federal senators and representatives. For more information, contact your local library.
Morris Manning
(Former Silver Bay Library Board Member)
Silver Bay, MN
