Politics
How Federal Funding Cuts to Libraries Could Impact Illinois Communities
The Institute of Museum and Library Services, or IMLS, provides federal funding to museums and libraries across the country.
That funding is currently in limbo.
Last month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the agency, resulting in the entire staff being placed on administrative leave.
Some say this move could result in the loss of critical programs and services in every state, especially in rural areas.
Library funding draws 0.003% of the annual federal budget yet has enormous impact in communities nationwide. The IMLS said in 2024 it awarded $266.7 million to museums, libraries and archives; that makes up just 0.003% of the federal budget, and 75 cents per capita.
“If the funding is removed from public libraries, which are open and free and accessible for everyone, it’s troubling to hear that this action is being taken, especially since just on March 14 the Senate passed and the president signed a continuing resolution for fiscal year 2025 which would provide IMLS funding through September of 2025,” said Cindy Hohl, president of the American Library Association.
The IMLS granted Illinois $5.7 million last year to more than 200 libraries. A large portion of that funding went to the interconnected library delivery service, Reaching Across Illinois Libraries System, or RAILS. The system gives libraries the ability to loan items to other libraries.
“We typically borrow from other libraries through the fiscal year, somewhere around 40,000 items,” said John Fischer, director of Normal Public Library. “We would need to find another source for those items, or another source for funds to accommodate delivery of that type.”
Normal Public Library also received funding for its Project Next Generation programs. The programs reach out to underserved portions of the community, granting children access to learning technology, coding and other STEAM efforts.
Fischer said those underserved communities and rural areas will feel the impact most from the president’s executive order.
“It’s likely true that a rural library budget would limit the number of programs that they can offer their community, programs for seniors, programs for young children, people with disabilities, job seekers, people experiencing homelessness, any service or event that allows them to do outreach or cater or assist those populations in their communities could be limited if the funding for those programs were limited,” Fischer said.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and a coalition of 21 attorneys general filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration to stop the dismantling of three federal agencies that provide services and funding supporting public libraries and museums, workers and minority-owned businesses nationwide.
“The Institute of Museum and Library Services helps to ensure that art, culture, history and literacy are accessible for all,” Raoul said in a statement. “Illegally cutting grants jeopardizes critical library programs across the state that make library materials available to smaller communities and provide education and access to technology for underserved youth. Attempting to dismantle agencies created by Congress is a continuation of this administration’s unconstitutional and unlawful overreach.”
IMLS also provides funding to institutions and universities for literacy research. According to the National Literacy Institute, on average 79% of U.S. adults nationwide were literate in 2024. 21% of adults in the U.S. are illiterate, and 54% of adults have below a sixth-grade literacy level.
Low levels of literacy cost the U.S. up to $2.2 trillion per year.
According to the American Library Association, more than 77% of rural public libraries are the only source of free public access to computers and the internet in their communities.
“Library services and programs could absolutely be a lifeline bridging that digital divide in rural areas,” Hohl said. “Libraries are here to support literacy of all kinds, and so summer reading and learning programs are coming up every year, and that’s a way that libraries continue to provide support to students during that summer when their learning could slide.”
Hohl is currently traveling for National Library Week. The American Library Association continues to advocate for IMLS funding across the country in hopes of explaining the importance of libraries.
“This is just a smidge, but this smidge, this drop in the bucket, makes such an impact at the local level,” Fischer said. “This will all come down to the local level if federal funding is cut.”
