Take Action to Fund Libraries in 2027: The Latest on the Institute of Museum and Library Services

• Find out what your Representative will be doing during their in-district work session next week. Show up to any town hall or event they may be holding, and ask them to answer directly where they stand on supporting public libraries and museums. Find out how they voted and what they think about the IMLS as an agency. You’ll find another series of questions to ask in person in the section below.

• If your Representatives aren’t hosting any public events, get in touch with their local offices and/or show up in person. Find out what your Representatives are doing, and again, get your voice on the record.

• It can be scary to make a phone call or to show up in person, of course. If you’re in the position where you can’t do either, write a letter to your Representative. Demand that they respond to your letter–my Representative has an option to tick a box for a response, and indeed, he did reply to my letter. If your Representative doesn’t have this option, put it in the letter.

• Once you’ve done this, then do the same thing with your Senators. Because the Senate has yet to hear the bill, this is your chance to include facts and figures about the value of the IMLS and public institutions like libraries across the country (you can do that with your House Representative, of course, but because the bill is already through Appropriations, they likely already have their mind made up). This is a tiny agency that makes a significant impact with a small budget for libraries across the nation. Note that in an era of declining literacy, declining interest in the act of reading, increased mis- and dis- information, increased need for digital tools and literacy, and a struggling economy, public libraries remain paragons of access, fact, and expertise that a whole community relies on. IMLS funding helps pay for interlibrary loan and databases, among many other things. Take a moment to peruse what resources were harmed last year when IMLS was gutted and its budget targeted and use those as concrete examples of what American taxpayers will lose without a fully-funded IMLS. You may also find it valuable to talk about how $14 million were stolen from the IMLS this year–money intended to be used to better America’s libraries and museums–and funneled directly into the pockets of right-wing PragerU and their “Freedom Trucks” project that tells a propaganda-laden, AI-created story of America’s 250 years of history.
  • Want more ideas? Here are some of the language that was useful in advocating for the IMLS last year:
    • Indicate the need for full funding for the IMLS, the only institution dedicated to public libraries and museums nationwide. Mention that fully funding the agency amounts to .005% of the federal budget this past year, but as has been demonstrated in study after study, the return on investment for public libraries is unbeatable. For every $1 invested in public libraries,there is a return of at least $4.50.
    • Emphasize that with the passage of the deeply unpopular and harmful budget and tax bill last year–which has already had the immediate impact of people seeing their health insurance costs skyrocket— libraries will become even more crucial to helping people find new jobs, access information about healthcare and food, connect to technology that they may no longer be able to afford, and find verifiable facts via trusted tools and professionals. These tools and services are precisely what IMLS grants address.Use the information and links in this storyfrom EveryLibrary to support your assertions.

• The next step in advocacy: tell everyone you know about what’s going on. Give them the same tools and resources you’ve used so they, too, can reach out to their Representatives and Senators and demand full funding for the IMLS. It may not seem like it moves the needle, but posting about your engagement with political advocacy like this gets other people doing the work, too. People cannot take action if they don’t know what’s going on, and the fact of the matter is that most people have no idea how bad or how dire things are for libraries at the local or federal level. Be that champion, and if you can, offer to help friends, family, and colleagues make those phone calls and write those letters.
• Then, send a short letter to a local or regional paper about the value of the public library. Use the links and information above to back up your statement, along with examples from your own library. Mention that the IMLS cuts will have a tremendous local impact.Here’s a good example letter, and here are several other great examples of library advocacy in local papers.
• Write a letter to your own public library board about how much you support their work. Point to specific examples, such as the library’s summer reading clubs and how they have encouraged you and/or your family to explore what the library has to offer. Thesepositivemessages, delivered to your library’s governing/administrative bodies, matter significantly. Most people only reach out to complain. This will not move the needle on the IMLS funding, but it will move the needle on protecting and supporting your local library.
• Reach out to your state-level legislators and tell them the importance of supporting, championing, and funding libraries. We have seen that even with the loss of IMLS funds,state-level funding exists and/or has been increased.State-level support is not enough to ward off the reality of what an IMLS closure would do, especially in small and rural libraries, but telling your representatives that they’re doing good work when you see it helps encourage more good work.

Further Library-Focused Actions to Take Right Now

Once you’ve put in your calls for funding the IMLS, there are several other actions you can take right now to support libraries across the country. Last month, the House passed House Resolution 2616, a nationwide “Don’t Say Trans” bill, which would censor the types of materials available in public schools. The bill has made its way into the Senate, which means reaching out to your two Senators in opposition to it. HR 2616 has not yet been placed on the Senate calendar.

Another bill of concern is House Resolution 7661, a national book-banning bill. Although HR 7661 passed the House subcommittee, it has yet to reach the full House floor. This is your opportunity to reach out to your House representative and let them know you oppose the measure. House Representatives will be working in their home districts between June 12 and June 22. This is an opportunity to find out if they’re hosting any meetings, town halls, or listening sessions in your community and show up in person–ask them the tough questions about this bill (and HR 2616–why didn’t they fight harder to stop it/why do they believe it’s a good idea to legislate hate?).

Advocates are also calling attention to House Resolution 8705, otherwise known as the “Charlie Act.” This bill, introduced and quickly passed by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, would withhold federal funds from public schools that teach diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) or “gender ideology.” It is yet another attempt to push an imagined vision of America and American history on young people who use public schools, and it would further marginalize groups who already face discrimination. This would naturally lead to not only a whitewashing of education, but it would also lead to massive censorship nationwide. This one is still in the House, so reach out to your House Representatives to oppose the bill named after far-right darling Charlie Kirk.

We were successful in finding the IMLS in 2026, just as the lawsuits filed against the administration’s dismantling of the agency in early 2026 helped reaffirm its necessity. This will be a constant battle for the foreseeable future. The more we practice our advocacy skills now and build those muscles, the easier and quicker it gets.

As has been the case since March 2026, you can keep tabs on the status of the IMLS–including updates on its funding and news about what it’s doing for libraries across the country–in this extensive and regularly updated document.