What’s going on with library funding?
There has been a lot of complicated and confusing action around library funding, and we’ve gotten questions from you! This page aims to answer some of those questions, and we will work hard to provide the most up-to-date information that we can.
Timeline
- March 14: President Trump issued an Executive Order intended to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the only federal agency dedicated to funding library services, along with six other agencies.
- Early April: IMLS began sending termination notices to numerous grantees.
- April 4: 21 State attorneys general filed an action to restore IMLS.
- April 6: The American Library Association and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees filed a lawsuit to started the process of blocking the dismantling of the IMLS.
- Late April: All but 12 of the 75 IMLS employees were put on administrative leave.
- May 1: A judge issued a temporary restraining order saying the Administration couldn’t terminate the employment of any IMLS staff or place any additional IMLS staff on administrative leave.
- May 14: In the action filed by the 21 state attorneys general, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction to reverse all steps the agency previously had taken to implement the executive order, restoring IMLS employees and contractors who were placed on leave or terminated, ordering the administration not to cancel grants, and to resume processing of payments to grantees in the 21 plaintiff states.
- June 6: A federal judge ruled against the April 6 ALA’s lawsuit, allowing the IMLS cuts to proceed. The action taken May 14, involving the 21 states whose attorneys general filed an action on April 4, remains in effect.
- As of September 3: The Michigan House of Representatives approved an omnibus budget bill, HB 4706, for fiscal year 2026. The spending plan includes funding for the Library of Michigan, but no line item for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). If the final version of the state budget does not include an LSTA line item, the Library of Michigan cannot spend federal funds already awarded and earmarked for statewide programs like the Michigan eLibrary (MeL) and the Michigan eLibrary Catalog (MeLCat).
- As of September 10: Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (LHHS) Appropriations Committees in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives have moved forward with bills that include a small increase in funding for the Library Services and Technology Act through the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
- October 1: MLSA authorized spending levels expire. Congress can continue to provide funding – and if funded, IMLS can continue to operate – past this time.
FAQs
What is the IMLS and what do those cuts mean?
- The Institute of Museum and Library Services is an independent federal agency that supplies grants and other funding opportunities for libraries, archives, and museums in all 50 states and U.S. territories.
- The agency is being dismantled, though there are a number of active lawsuits and challenges to the initial order from President Trump. If those challenges aren’t successful—and there isn’t money for the agency included in the next federal budget—funding from IMLS would no longer be available to libraries around the country.
What does the IMLS fund in Michigan?
Michigan would lose $4.8M in federal funds from the IMLS. Michigan’s eLibrary and statewide catalog (MeL and MeLCat) would likely experience severe service disruptions.
What YDL services are impacted by the budget cuts?
YDL participates in MeL and MeLCat and would experience the same disruptions as any other library that participates.
When will the cuts go into effect?
Current spending levels expire October 1.