The White House budget that was released today calls for eliminating the Institute of Museum & Library Services (IMLS), the only federal agency charged with providing support to the nation’s hundreds of thousands of libraries and museums. Libraries need your help to ensure that IMLS is saved.
“Without libraries what have we? We have no past and no future.”
Here’s what you can do right now:
- Use the sample messages in this document to contact the offices of your members of Congress
- Share your photo or story via this form of how support from IMLS has enabled you and your library to help the teens in your community. YALSA will use this information to advocate against the elimination of IMLS
- Sign up via this web page to receive updates on the #SaveIMLS effort
- Add your name to this online petition being circulated by EveryLibrary
Don’t know much about IMLS? Here’s a quick overview: through IMLS, every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. territories receive funding to support their state’s libraries and museums. In FY14 the total funding IMLS distributed to states and territories was $154,800,000. In addition, IMLS offers competitive grant opportunities that individual libraries and museums can apply for. In FY14 they awarded 594 grants (from 1,299 applications) totaling more than $54,700,000. Visit the IMLS site to see how much funding your state receives from them.
