To the editor:
Are you one of the 1.8 million Iowans with a library card?
Do you love checking out an audiobook, e-book, or digital magazine through your library’s Bridges Overdrive subscription and Libby app?
Is your family among the almost 2 million attendees at the 100,000+ free or low-cost events hosted by Iowa libraries each year?
Does your library’s Summer Reading program keep your kids reading while school is out?
These services and more are paid for with federal grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), which President Trump seeks to eliminate through a March 14 Executive Order.
Most IMLS grants use reimbursement to ensure proper use of funds. With the entire 70-person IMLS staff on leave, many libraries have spent promised grant funds that they can no longer access. And in early April, libraries across the nation received notification that their awarded IMLS grants have been cancelled.
While city and county taxes provide the majority of public library budgets, 407 of Iowa’s 544 public libraries are in communities with a population of 2,499 or less. These small, rural libraries depend upon IMLS funds to provide access to digital books and share materials between libraries. Without federal funds, some small libraries will inevitably close.
After the school shooting in Perry, our public library was a gathering space for students, families and residents to support one another and receive mental health services. When our town’s Tyson plant closed, laid-off employees came to the library for help with their job search.
In small towns like Perry, libraries are community hubs. And as the cost of living continues to rise, libraries are among the few public spaces where people can go without having to spend money.
IMLS funding keeps Iowa libraries open and ensures that librarians can support their communities. If you have benefited from your public library, please tell your federal and state representatives how this elimination of IMLS-funded services affects you.
Alissa Whitmore
Perry
