What to know about Federal Funding for Libraries

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) website describes its mission/vision like this: “IMLS envisions a nation where individuals and communities have access to museums and libraries to learn from and be inspired by the trusted information, ideas, and stories they contain about our diverse natural and cultural heritage.”

According to EveryLibrary, a political action platform for libraries, “IMLS is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 35,000 museums. IMLS provides grants to libraries that need to replace technology and infrastructure. Many rural and urban communities depend on these grants to continue operations and provide essential community services. In small towns and big cities, museums are vital to sharing the arts, extending our cultural memory, and connecting us with people we’d never otherwise have met. IMLS is a primary source of federal grant funding to extend state and local resources in order to educate students, preserve and digitize collections, and connect families with their communities.”

The IMLS website shows that, under the Grants to States program, it provided $180 million to State Library Administrative Agencies (SLAAs) in fiscal year 2024. Oklahoma’s allotment was $2.53 million. That was a slight increase over FY ’23 ($2.50 million) and FY ’22 ($2.21 million).

The Grants to States program allocates a base amount to each of the SLAAs ($1 million) plus a supplemental amount based on population.