An Executive Order signed on March 14 proposes eliminating the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the nation’s only federal agency that supports our libraries. The IMLS funds Michigan’s MeL and MeLCat services, which enable statewide library users to borrow materials and access millions of digital resources from authoritative sources on education, medicine, business, and history. On March 31, its entire staff was placed on administrative leave.

 

Although the majority of revenue for public libraries in Michigan comes from local property taxes, eliminating the IMLS will effectively dismantle MeLCat lending and borrowing across the state, MeL database access, the popular Michigan Activity Pass, and more. Berkley cardholders borrow around 600 items each year from MeLCat, and MeL database access is the only database the Berkley Library can provide our community. These federally funded programs provide a hard return on investment of $27 per tax dollar, which means that for every $1 invested in libraries across the state, Michigan residents see $27 in received value.

You can read more about the impact of the elimination of the IMLS in a press release from the Michigan Department of Education by clicking here.