Federal funding for public libraries is at risk following one of President Donald Trump’s latest executive orders aimed at gutting the government and its essential functions.
Local library staff have been monitoring the situation since the order was announced on March 14, and have been reaching out to the public via social media, urging those that can to contact their elected representatives to share their concerns regarding the anticipated drastic cuts.
The executive order signed last week called for the elimination and reduction of seven government entities, including the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The federal agency is responsible for distributing congressionally approved funds to state libraries and to library, museum, and archives program grant recipients in all 50 states and U.S. territories.
In 2024, Michigan received nearly $8.2 million for 23 IMLS awards, with the majority of that funding going towards grants, museum and library services. The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, which operates its own Heritage Library in Peshawbestown, also received in 2024 a Native American Library Services basic grant totaling $10,000 from IMLS.
The Michigan Electronic Library, also known as MeL and MeLcat, is a centralized catalog and resource sharing service that lends and shares materials among libraries statewide. The goal of the inter-library loan program, which celebrated 20 years of service just last month, is to provide equitable access to a comprehensive array of high-quality information resources for Michigan residents. The service itself is now at risk as it is made possible by support from IMLS, as well as additional funding by the state.
Leland Township Library Director Mark Morton said with their own facility currently undergoing renovations, they’ve been operating on a smaller scale out of the Munnecke room and their collection has been reduced in size by about 90% as most materials are in storage. Morton said during this renovation process, Leland library has been especially reliant on MeL services for visiting patrons.
“We’re depending on MeL for all kinds of things. Normally, we do several hundred books a month either sending them out or getting them in for our patrons, but we’re depending on it even more now,” Morton said. “In fact, that was part of our overall strategy of moving in here just to be able to depend on inter-library loans to make sure our patrons get the materials that they want.”
The electronic inter-library loan program is frequently used among Leland library patrons, Morton said, even before renovations began in February. In July 2024, for example, Morton said the library sent out 187 books from its collection and received 195 books back via the MeL program. Those numbers are down a bit because the renovations have deterred Leland’s usual busy foot traffic, but Morton said they’re still depending on the program to assist those that do stop by.
“There’s over 400 libraries in the system, including universities, so we can get patrons just about any book they want through the system. All they have to do is request it, wait about a week, and then it comes in for them, so we depend on that a lot,” he said. “That’s a big part of our collection development strategy is being able to get books from other libraries.”
It all gets back to the issue of access to information and books that people want, Morton said, explaining how funding cuts to MeL and libraries will ultimately limit that access, affecting underserved communities most of all.
“We can’t get every book that’s published, so we have to really pick and choose, but it’s such a huge service for our patrons,” he said. “Just in normal operations, it’s absolutely essential… from a library perspective, I know so many other programs are being slashed right now, it doesn’t seem to have any rhyme or reason what they’re doing, but we’re just one small part of that. That’s the other frustrating thing, from what I understand, IMLS money is not a lot in terms of federal budget, it’s just a small portion of it.”
Leelanau Township Library Director Julie Alpers-Preneta echoed Morton’s comments, explaining how smaller libraries in particular with smaller budgets and space rely on MeL to receive a wide variety of books, magazines, CDs, and even sheet music not at their location. In 2024, Preneta said there was almost 2,300 MeL transactions at her library, noting its significance among patrons.
“I’m looking at this as a statewide concern, but it’s definitely going to hit home for a lot of people in Northport... It (MeL) doesn’t cost the patrons anything, it’s all part of the services that are budgeted. I feel like to cut that off is telling the line of censorship, really. People aren’t going to be able to get the materials they’re looking for. Libraries are for everyone and this is affecting everyone,” Preneta said. “We get (MeL) deliveries three times a week and it’s one or two totes, so it’s a lot of materials for us… That’s the biggest hit I would see for this funding cut is that we would not be able to get materials from other libraries.”
Although the executive order states that its purpose is to reduce the federal bureaucracy and waste, officials from Michigan libraries, museums and archives have stated this week that it’s unreasonable to target “federal funding allocated to libraries and museums that represents just a tiny fraction – approximately 0.0043% in FY 2024 – of the federal budget.” In a joint statement on IMLS signed by organizations like the Michigan Library Association, Michigan Museums Association, and Michigan Association of School Librarians, officials said the minimal investment from IMLS supports institutions that are vital to education, cultural preservation, and community enrichment.
“While funding for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2025 (ending Sept. 2025) has been appropriated to the IMLS in the newly approved Continuing Resolution, we have no guarantees of funding for IMLS in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget,” the statement read. “Contact your legislators and tell them to continue fully funding IMLS – both discretionary programs and those explicitly mandated by law. Don’t forget that your communication will be stronger by adding your own words, and how this will affect you, your cultural institution, and your community.”
