Trump wants to shutter a federal library agency. Here’s what that could mean for Iowa libraries.

Federal funding for Iowa library systems — and the public services they support — could be at risk following a presidential directive targeting a federal agency that provides financial support to libraries across the U.S.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services this week placed its entire staff on administrative leave following a March 14 executive order from President Donald Trump demanding the institute wind down operations “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.”

Congress established IMLS in 1996 to oversee grant funding for libraries and museums across the country, but the agency is now caught in the crosshairs of Trump’s ongoing efforts to slash the federal budget.

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The agency is relatively small — around 70 employees — but it is responsible for the disbursement of more than $250 million in federal funds to libraries and museums nationwide to support special projects and ongoing operations.

Per IMLS data, Iowa received $2.2 million in federal funding during the last fiscal year. Combined with state matching funds, library systems statewide received about $3.5 million under the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA).

The State Library of Iowa in turn relies on LSTA funding to deliver statewide library development initiatives, meaning any reduction in federal funding could have a significant impact on current and future programming.

“Libraries are centers of community life … that provide opportunity to Iowans every single day,” said Sam Helmick, community and access services coordinator at the Iowa City Public Library and president-elect of the American Library Association. “When defunding happens, … we can no longer provide that same level of service.”

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How is IMLS funding used in Iowa?

IMLS funding is distributed in several ways across the country, although the lion’s share of its budget goes directly to state library agencies. In Iowa, the State Library uses that funding to support several statewide programs.

One such program is the IA Shares Delivery Service, a twice-weekly delivery service to every public library in Iowa to support the sharing of materials between libraries.

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Through the program, libraries are able to request books they either don’t have or don’t have enough copies of from other libraries. The books are then delivered to the requesting library at no charge, issued to patrons and later returned to the material’s home library.

“It’s one of those behind-the-scenes things that people don’t think about until it’s to the point of ‘Oh, but I really wanted that one book and now I can’t get it,” said Cedar Rapids Public Library Director Dara Schmidt. “It’s not flashy, but it’s a basic part of the services we provide.”

Schmidt said the program is particularly helpful for smaller libraries that don’t have the room or budget to keep a large selection of materials on-hand.

Cedar Rapids patrons last year borrowed more than 300 items from other libraries, for example, while 1,000 Cedar Rapids materials were provided to other Iowa libraries through IA Shares.

Federal funds also support programs like Brainfuse — a digital library resource that offers assistance with homework help, tutoring and career services — and help cover accreditation and continuing education services for Iowa libraries and their staff.

IMLS funding also can be awarded for specific projects or programs, such as a $246,000 grant awarded in 2023 for the State Library to develop a pilot program to help library staff address patrons’ psychological needs.

What happens without those funds?

Public libraries are primarily funded by city and county taxes, but area library leaders still stressed the importance of federal funding.

Without federal support for ongoing programs like IA Shares, Iowa libraries could be forced to decide if they’d like to pay the cost of those services themselves or if they must instead reduce or eliminate them.

The burden of replacing funding for those services would be felt by all public libraries, Schmidt said, but it would hit small, rural libraries particularly hard given their relatively smaller budgets and staffing levels.

“Libraries in Iowa are funded largely through property tax dollars, so the bigger the community, the more dollars you have coming into that system,” she said. “That’s just simple math, but what that means is that (reductions in federal funding) … will be particularly hard for small libraries who simply don’t have the tax dollars to support those additional services.”

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Ely Public Library Director Sarah Sellon echoed that sentiment. She said the Ely library relies on IA Shares to supplement the library’s existing catalog and on LSTA funding more broadly for initiatives like All Iowa Reads and the summer reading program.

The library also is a part of the Bridges eLibrary program, the e-book and audiobook buying consortium for Iowa Public Libraries.

The State Library of Iowa facilitates the program and manages the contract on behalf of participating libraries using funds collected from consortium members and from IMLS to make digital materials more accessible and affordable for Iowa libraries.

Without the IMLS funding used to cover the program’s platform fee, that consortium could be at risk.

Further, IMLS funds are tied to matching state funds that support things like the Enrich Iowa program that provides things like interlibrary loan reimbursement and direct state aid, and Sellon said it's unclear how the potential elimination of IMLS could affect those programs.

If IMLS funding were to disappear or substantially decline, however, Sellon said the Ely library — which serves a population of roughly 2,300 — would be forced to make some “tough decisions” about what programs and products it could continue to support on its own.

“I’ve really been thinking about all this, and I’m honestly not exactly sure what we’d do if it came down to it,” she said. “Our budget is small, … and we can’t do it all (by ourselves).”

Has the executive order eliminated the IMLS?

Ultimately, Trump’s executive order cannot totally eliminate the IMLS because the agency was established by law. Instead, the order directed the institute to shrink down to its statutory minimum.

Those statutory minimums have yet to be outlined in the public eye, however, and local library leaders fear that the president’s future budget proposals will call on Congress to eliminate the agency altogether.

Congressionally-approved federal funds have been earmarked for IMLS use through September, at which point reauthorization will be required to fund future operations. At its current funding level, IMLS funding accounts for less than .05 percent of the federal budget.

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Helmick said library leaders and literacy advocates nationwide intend to push congressional leaders to renew their support for IMLS despite Trump’s order. This past week, Helmick visited Washington to meet with Iowa representatives and discuss the importance of public libraries.

Preliminary conversations provided some positive feedback from lawmakers, Helmick said, although they still encouraged all Iowa residents to reach out to their legislators with personal stories of why their public library is important.

“Our representatives are acknowledging that Iowans really care about and love their libraries,” Helmick said. “What I’m hearing from our representatives are Iowa values. Now we’ll have to see if Iowa actions follow.”

Comments: grace.nieland@thegazette.com