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County librarian warns federal plan could eliminate Institute for Museum and Library Services
Summary
Santa Clara County Librarian Jennifer Weeks told the commission that a federal proposal would eliminate the Institute for Museum and Library Services, a small federal agency that supports state-level library grants; she urged advocacy and offered to share details and links.
Jennifer Weeks, county librarian for the Santa Clara County Library District, briefed the Arts Commission on April programming and a federal policy risk to local library funding. Weeks said the president has proposed eliminating the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), a small federal agency that channels grants to states and cultural organizations.
Weeks explained that IMLS’s national budget is relatively small but important to state-level programs: “The president of The United States has put forth a plan to eliminate the Institute for Museum and Library Services,” she said, adding that the agency’s budget is roughly “about 200,000,000” with approximately “15,000,000 that comes to the state of California” used for grants that support career online high school programs, teen internships, ESL programs and shared digital collections.
She urged commissioners and the public to consider advocacy to protect these grant streams and offered to send a link outlining the proposed change and actions citizens and officials could take. Commissioners responded with concern, noting the programs that rely on federal and state grant money and asking Weeks to provide contact information and materials the commission could help circulate.
Weeks also reviewed local programs (National Library Week activities, Financial Literacy Month events, poetry programming and a George Takei virtual event in late May) and said she would forward additional budget and advocacy materials to commission staff for distribution.
