Federal Funding At Risk
On Friday, March 14, President Trump signed an executive order that targets federal funding to libraries and museums through the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
IMLS is the single largest source of critical federal funding for libraries. IMLS’ entire program of service costs 87 cents per person (U.S. population July, 2024).
The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) receives $3.6 million from IMLS’ Grants to States Program. The MBLC uses federal IMLS funds to provide statewide library services for everyone. The cut to IMLS will be felt across our entire state.
Libraries are busy, effective and efficient
At 28 million in-person visits to Massachusetts Public Libraries each year, we’re busier than Disney’s Magic Kingdom.
For every dollar invested in public libraries they return an estimated five dollars in services.
Libraries in Massachusetts work together to create a system of sharing that not only saves money but gives everyone access to more than 59 million physical items.
Federal Funding impacts half of MBLC Staff
Thirteen of the MBLC’s 23 staff members are at least partially funded through IMLS (5 fully funded, 8 partially funded). These staff provide support for preservation, special populations, library advisory, and outreach to friends and trustees. While State Aid to Public Libraries is funded by the state, all staff who work in this program are funded in part through federal funding.
Federal Funding impacts programs statewide
Databases
The statewide database program provides critical access to research databases that no community or school system could afford to purchase on its own. On average 60% of database usage comes from schools. Last year, there were over 9 million full text downloads from these databases, an increase of 12% in just one year.
ComCat
The Commonwealth Catalog (ComCat) supports Inter Library Loan—the way people can get items from libraries across the state. The MBLC used $186,521 in federal funds to pay for ComCat last year. On average people get close to 7,500 items through ComCat each month. At a value of $15 per item, ComCat pays for itself in just 1 and ½ months.
Library eBooks and Audiobooks
The MBLC uses federal funds to support the statewide Library eBook and Audiobook Program (LEA). LEA circulation has more than doubled since 2019 with residents borrowing more than 1.9 million items from LEA in 2024, an increase of 19% in just one year. The platform that everyone uses to borrow LEA items is paid for with federal funds from the MBLC.
Disaster Preparedness & Mitigating Catastrophic Loss
MBLC is a founding partner of Coordinated Statewide Emergency Preparedness for Cultural Heritage in Massachusetts. The MBLC provides training and resources so libraries can minimize the impacts from disasters through risk assessment and mitigation planning.
Local Grants
The Federal Grant program program directly funds local library services and programs addressing community needs ranging from early literacy, preserving local history collections, workforce development, and STEM/STEAM programming to name just a few.