Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley led his Oregon delegation colleagues—Senator Ron Wyden and U.S. Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Val Hoyle (OR-04), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), and Janelle Bynum (OR-05)—in sounding the alarm over potential federal funding cuts at the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), which comes as the agency’s entire staff was recently placed on administrative leave.
“Libraries and museums play a vital role in our communities, including in the great state of Oregon,” the lawmakers wrote. “Libraries offer access for all to essential information and engagement on a wide range of topics, including skills and career training, broadband, and computing services.”
Concerns over the looming funding cuts come amid reporting that the IMLS placed its entire staff on paid administrative leave, following a meeting between staff from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and IMLS leadership.
“IMLS cuts also affect zoos and aquariums—including the Oregon Zoo and the Oregon Coast Aquarium—which use IMLS funds to contribute to the wellbeing and advancement of our communities and develop and expand programs that educate and engage Oregonians and visitors alike,” the lawmakers further cautioned.
IMLS grants enable libraries to develop services in every community, including people of diverse geographic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds, individuals with disabilities, residents of rural and urban areas, Native Americans, military families, veterans, and caregivers. IMLS was created under the Museum and Library Services Act (MLSA) of 1996 and is required to have an Office of Museum Services and an Office of Library Services.
The IMLS Office of Museum Services is the largest dedicated source of investment in the nation’s museums, which typically support more than 700,000 jobs and contribute $50 billion annually to the U.S. economy. IMLS funding plays a significant role in this economic impact by helping museums reach more visitors and spur community development. For example, Central Oregon’s High Desert Museum received $1.43 million from IMLS grants over the last decade, which had allowed the museum to partner with the Museum at Warm Springs on Tribal programming and fund family workshops involving STEM education in rural communities.
The IMLS Office of Library Services provided 25 percent of the State Library of Oregon’s budget, approximately $2.6 million. If these funds were to disappear, the budget for the SAGE courier system in Eastern Oregon — which transported 91,582 items across 15 rural counties in Eastern Oregon in FY24 — would be cut in half. Similarly, without this funding, K-12 students in Oregon would no longer have access to the online resources of the Oregon School Library Information System, which had 677,775 visits in FY24.
In sharing their deep concerns with IMLS Acting Director Keith Sonderling, the Oregon delegation reminded the Trump Administration of its obligation to execute the provisions MLSA reauthorized in 2018, which was signed into law by President Trump.
“We expect that the Administration will implement the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act of 2025 in a manner consistent with these allocations enacted in Fiscal Year 2024,” wrote the Oregon delegation. “We also expect that the Administration will allow the IMLS to engage with and support both libraries and museums as Congress intended and as authorized in the MLSA.”
For Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24), Congress appropriated $294.8 million for IMLS, and Oregon benefitted from nearly $3.6 million of that funding. This includes more than $2.5 million to Oregon for the grants to states program under the Library Services Technology Act, which is the largest source of federal funding support for library services in the United States. Investments for Oregon in FY24 included more than $700,000 for Oregon museums to better serve the public, with funding for the Portland Art Museum, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, and the High Desert Museum.
Full text of the letter can be found HERE.
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