[msb-alumni] Support grows for small agency with big reach on Trump's budget death row
- From: Steve <pipeguy920@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <msb-alumni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2017 14:58:21 -0400
BlankI don't know how much this agency has to do with talking book funding, but
one librarian sites it as an issue if the Institute of Museum and Library
Services agency is cut.
Support grows for small agency with big reach on Trump's budget death row . Joe
Davidson | Columnist.
If you say "IMLS" to most folks, even to those familiar
with Uncle Sam's endless stream of abbreviations and acronyms, you'll get a
blank stare. You can spell out the Institute of Museum and Library Services,
but
the recognition won't be much better.
Yet this small federal agency has extensive reach across the country,
supporting
educational and cultural activities
for people who will never know how those experiences are funded. They should
enjoy them while they can. If President Trump gets his way, the institute,
along with 18 other agencies, will be eliminated. It finances programs at
123,000 libraries and 35,000 museums. When Julie Todaro, president of the
American
Library Association, got the news, she was "shocked and devastated. The
organization is mobilizing congressional opposition to the budget plan she
called
"counterproductive and shortsighted. Eliminating the agency would not save much
money, just $230 million - Uncle Sam's pocket change compared with Trump's
plan to slash $54 billion from domestic discretionary spending. Like staffers
at
the other agencies on death row, the institute's 73 employees would face
not only unemployment, but also the loss of a devoted mission. "Since its
inception 20 years ago, the Institute of Museum and Library Services has
provided
critical support enabling museums and libraries across the country to make a
tremendous difference in their communities," IMLS Director Kathryn K. Matthew
said in a statement. "The institutions we serve provide vital resources that
contribute significantly to Americans' economic development, education, health,
and well-being. For Trump, however, that mission isn't critical to his effort
"to redefine the proper role of the Federal Government," as his budget blueprint
describes it. When Ivanka Trump tweeted to promote National Library Week last
week, Todaro responded on Twitter with "libraries do great work with federal
funds for states @realdonaldtrump wants to wipe out . . . #saveIMLS. In his
budget message, Trump said he aims to create "a Government that puts the needs
of its own people first. The people apparently don't need library and museum
services enough to meet his requirements. He should listen to the library
and museum officials from throughout the country who told us how the cuts would
affect their operations. David Smolen, public-library director in Conway,
N.H.: "There are a number of ways elimination of IMLS and LSTA (Library
Services
and Technology Act grants) would damage our libraries. He cited talking
books for the blind, downloadable books, research databases and staff positions
subject to layoffs. Laura Pitts, public-library director in Scottsboro,
Ala.: "In the past four years, we have increased our summer participation from
150 children to over 500, and the number continues to grow, all because
we have had the funds available to us through the LSTA and IMLS. Omar Poler,
American Indian Library Association president: "Since most American Indian
communities have little to no tax base, tribal libraries are especially
sensitive to reductions in IMLS funding. The loss of IMLS and its Native
American
Library Services Program will mean the loss of countless opportunities for
lifelong learning. In a very real way, this budget is an attack on Indian
Country's
right to know. Greg Lucas, California state librarian: "For public libraries,
federal funds pay for literacy efforts, lunches for poor kids during the
summer . . . promote adult and early-childhood literacy, provide mental-health
training for librarians, offer summer reading programs for kids and adults,"
among a list of other programs. Karen Bosch Cobb, project adviser for the
Pacific Library Partnership in San Mateo, Calif.: "Since its inception in 2012,
Veterans Connect @ the Library has served well over 27,000 veterans or family
members at 50 public library sites in California. Volunteers and staff provide
one-on-one extended research about available benefits, thus serving as an entry
point into the complex arena of services for veterans and family members.
Christine Anagnos, executive director of the Association of Art Museum
Directors: Seattle's Frye Art Museum's "Here:Now program gives adults living
with
dementia and their care partners a creative way to connect through art-making
classes as part of the museum's Creative Aging Programs. Denise Keller, Pinal
County librarian in Florence, Ariz.: "In 2013, we received a grant for $36,880
to help us start an e-book collection. The expenses associated with the
purchase of the platform, setup and a starting collection was beyond what our
local budgets could bear. Rob Vernon, Association of Zoos & Aquariums senior
vice president: "The funding IMLS provides is an example of government spending
that has a clear impact ... If IMLS is zeroed out, the reach of these programs
will most certainly be diminished, if not eliminated. Amber Mathewson, Pima
County Public Library director in Tucson: "If people haven't been to a public
library in a while, they should go into their library and see what's happening.
They should go soon, before Trump closes the book on many library programs.
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