[OYAN] House Subcommittee Supports IMLS Funding

[MAURER Jennifer * SLO]

Please pardon the cross-posting. Hi, folks. I'm sharing the latest update related to the situation with the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). See the email below from Wendy Cornelisen, State Librarian. For those who are new to the listserv or situation, many Library Support services and programs (ex: OSLIS, statewide databases, Answerland) plus 6.7 FTE of staff are funded by federal tax dollars that all state libraries receive through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). In an executive order and as part of his proposed federal fiscal year 2026 budget, the IMLS and LSTA were identified for elimination by the president. Despite that, the Senate and now the House have included IMLS / LSTA funding in their draft budgets as part of the current federal budget process. The State Library of Oregon updates page<https://www.oregon.gov/library/Pages/Updates.aspx> provides more background information. As a reminder, Ready to Read funds for public libraries come from the state's General Fund so are not affected by the IMLS / LSTA situation. - Thanks, Jen (Jen Maurer, School Library Consultant, Library Support and Development Services, State Library of Oregon, jennifer.maurer at slo.oregon.gov<mailto:jennifer.maurer at slo.oregon.gov>)

From: ola at memberclicks-mail.net <ola at memberclicks-mail.net> On Behalf Of Wendy Cornelisen
Sent: Tuesday, September 2, 2025 5:37 PM
To: MAURER Jennifer * SLO <jennifer.maurer at slo.oregon.gov>
Subject: [oasl-all] House subcommittee supports IMLS funding

Thanks to everyone who was able to connect with your member of Congress over the past few months!

After the long summer recess, the House is back in session today, with the federal fiscal year (FFY) 2026 budget high on the priority list. This includes making specific funding decisions for federal agencies, including the Institute for Museum and Library Services.

Yesterday House Appropriations released the FFY 2026 bill that includes the budget recommendation for the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee (LHHS). The bill matches what is included in the Senate bill for IMLS<https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/fy26_lhhs_bill_text.pdf>, that is, nearly level-funding for IMLS, and for the LSTA Grants to States program.

Today, the House Subcommittee passed this bill. This isn't the end of the process, but this is promising news: the Senate and the House bills currently align on the amount included for IMLS in the federal 2026 budget. Both the full House and Senate must pass the funding bill, which then goes to reconciliation to account for any differences.

These are the funds that, if allocated, would be spent by the State Library starting in July 2026, for state fiscal year 2027.

I'll keep sharing updates as I learn more. Please let me know if there are any questions in the meantime!

Thanks,
Wendy

Wendy Cornelisen (she, her, hers)
State Librarian
State Library of Oregon
wendy.cornelisen at slo.oregon.gov<mailto:wendy.cornelisen at slo.oregon.gov>
Office: 503-378-4367| Mobile 971-375-3992
www.oregon.gov/library<http://www.oregon.gov/library>
[Title: State Library of Oregon]
________________________________
Oregon Library Association * PO Box 3067, La Grande, Oregon 97850, United States
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