Fund Libraries

Wednesday, September 03, 2025 12:00 AM

Call Your Legislators and Urge Them to Support Library Funding in the Michigan FY2026 Budget!

Last week, the Michigan House of Representatives approved an omnibus budget bill, HB 4706, for fiscal year 2026. Now with less than a month before a signed state budget is due, the budget process is entering its final, most critical phase: reconciling major differences in Michigan's budget across Chambers and the Governor’s office.

Thursday, August 28, 2025 12:00 AM

Joint Letter Urging Congress to Fund IMLS

MLA and a coalition of associations representing Michigan’s libraries, museums, and historical societies have sent a joint letter to Congressional leaders urging them to support funding the Institute of Museum and Library Services in FY 2026.

Thursday, August 28, 2025 12:00 AM

Note From Dillon

As we near the end of the season, Michigan’s Congressional leaders will return to work in Washington after Labor Day. Over the summer, MLA and other organizations supporting libraries have sent communications to Congress, urging them to support federal funding for libraries. Before their August recess, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee included a small increase and level funding for library programs. Now we need to remind the U.S. House of Representatives to follow suit.

Friday, July 25, 2025 12:00 AM

Federal Funding Uncertainty for Libraries and Polling Support from Michiganders

In June 2025, MLA commissioned a statewide poll to learn more about Michiganders’ attitudes towards public libraries and book bans. That poll also included questions around the uncertain future of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and federal funding for libraries.

Thursday, June 26, 2025 08:32 AM

IMLS Update: Timeline of Key Events and Status

Since March of this year, libraries across the country have wrestled with federal funding uncertainty and the prospect of losing widely used programs and services funded by those dollars. An Executive Order seeking to eliminate the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) - the only dedicated source of federal funding for public libraries - was followed by the firing and replacement of key staff, federal lawsuits, court injunctions, and calls to action. With so many updates to this story over the last few months, we thought it would be helpful to summarize the timeline so far and the latest updates on securing IMLS funding.

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