NATIONWIDE — SUMMER READING PROGRAMS, HIGH SPEED INTERNET ACCESS and employment assistance for job seekers are just three of the services that will be axed as a result of the Trump administration’s executive order to eliminate the Institute of Museum and Library Services, according to librarians.
The American Library Association, in a statement released over the weekend, is denouncing President Trump’s March 14 action to axe IMLS, an independent federal agency supporting libraries and museums in all 50 states as well as U.S. territories through grantmaking, research and policy development.
“By eliminating the only federal agency dedicated to funding library services, the Trump administration’s executive order is cutting off at the knees the most beloved and trusted of American institutions and the staff and services they offer,” reads the statement. “To dismiss some 75 committed workers and mission of an agency that advances opportunity and learning is to dismiss the aspirations and everyday needs of millions of Americans.”
The American Library Association also urges members of Congress and decisionmakers at all levels of government to visit the libraries that serve their constituents. The ALA also urges the White House to spare the modest federal funding (0.003% of the federal budget) for America’s libraries.
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