Libraries and Advocacy

Institute of Museum and Library Services Funding Threatened

Graphic illustration of multi-ethnic people sitting and reading with a bookshelf behind them and the words "advocating for libraries"

On March 14, President Trump issued an executive order requiring “the non-statutory components and functions of the following governmental entities shall be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law”. This affected seven agencies, including the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

IMLS is the primary funder of Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction's Division for Libraries and Technology, which supports public library technology, shared online resources and databases, annual reporting and training for libraries, statewide library support, and much more. It also funds the Library Services & Technology Act (LSTA), which benefits Madison Public Library directly as part of the South Central Library System.

Madison Public Library is working with library and system directors across the state, colleagues at the American Library Association, Wisconsin Library Association, and Urban Libraries Council, as well as our colleagues in the museum world to advocate for continued IMLS funding.

Since the executive order was issued, here's an update on what's going on:

On March 18, President Trump fired the acting head of IMLS and replaced her with Keith Sonderling (Deputy Secretary of Labor) as acting head.
On March 31, all 75 staff at IMLS were put on administrative leave for up to 90 days with no access to work-related tools or communication methods. With no employees working at IMLS, this effectively means that IMLS grant funds will be frozen during this time, if not canceled entirely.
On April 23, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) received $1.6 million in grants from IMLS to support library operations and programming. The amount received is about half of the $3.23 million that DPI received in 2024 from IMLS, and the notification message that came with this partial disbursement of funds indicated that additional funding could be coming, but were "subject to the availability of funds, IMLS discretion and other actions” and that “should those conditions be met, IMLS anticipates issuing supplemental awards and will send the allotment table at that time.” While this is not the typical way these grants are funded to states, Wisconsin DPI Director Ben Miller stated that "receiving a partial award provides some stability and relief in the short term.”
Federal funding will help support statewide services at Madison Public Library, which means online databases provided by BadgerLink, OuterLibrary Loan support, and baseline professional development work will continue into the next funding year (July 1, 2025-June 30, 2026). However, due to uncertainty at the federal level, DPI will not be opening grant subawards, which are grants funded by federal funds and administered by the state agency, to library systems in Wisconsin in July as they typically do. Subawards at Madison Public Library help bolster funding to our wider library system - the South Central Library System (SCLS). Last year, for example, SCLS received 4% of its total budget from IMLS funds through DPI, while other systems in the state received up to 9%.
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On May 8, President Trump fired Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress. As the world's largest library, the Library of Congress serves as a research library and houses the copyright office of the US and collects the records of every book published in our nation. As of May 12, President Trump has appointed Todd Blanche, the Deputy Attorney General of the United States, and one of Trump's personal lawyers as the new Librarian of Congress.
On May 10, President Trump also fired the head of the US Copyright Office after they expressed concerns about the usage of copyrighted materials by AI technology.
President Trump has released his FY26 budget and it proposes eliminating the Institute for Museums and Library Services, as well as other agencies focused on arts and culture like the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts. Congress created IMLS by law, with bipartisan support. Republican and Democratic Presidents signed those laws, and reducing the already small workforce at IMLS undermines the agency's ability to carry out that law.
It's time to take action to Fund Libraries for Federal Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26), which will start on October 1, 2025. When the Trump Administration tried to eliminate IMLS previously, Congress was able to save it during this process because the law dictates which IMLS programs are mandatory and which are discretionary.

It's clear, Congressional representatives need to hear the essential role libraries play in communities. We need your help to protect library funding.

How You Can Help

We encourage you to take action and ask your elected officials to stand strong in their support of libraries and museums here in Wisconsin and across the nation.

Call, email, or share prepared messages from the American Library Association's Show Up for Libraries Campaign.

Use Your Voice

Contact Your U.S. Senators:

Contact Your Wisconsin Congressional Representative:

1st District - Bryan Steil
2nd District - Mark Pocan
3rd District - Derrick Van Orden
4th District - Gwen Moore
5th District - Scott Fitzgerald
6th District - Glenn Grothman
7th District - Thomas Tiffany
8th District - Tony Wied

The American Library Association has prepared a script you can use when calling on Congress to protect library funding.

Here's a link to the ALA's Fund Libraries Campaign which highlights local representatives from each state and their voting record on supporting library funding over the past few years.

Find Your Representative

More Ways to Help

Stop in. Speak Out. Support Your Library.

Wisconsin Public Libraries are banding together to lead a postcard writing campaign to legislators in June and July 2025

Postcard Campaign Underway!

Public libraries across the state are taking part in a coordinated postcard campaign to help protect federal funding for library services—and your voice can make a difference!

As part of the campaign, we're inviting visitors to fill out postcards addressed to Wisconsin’s federal elected officials. These postcards give people the chance to share why their library matters to them, their families, and their communities. Participating is easy: just stop by your local library, write a quick note on one of the provided postcards, and drop it in the collection box.

Postcards will be gathered and mailed together, helping amplify voices from all corners of Wisconsin in one unified message. We'll be doing two phases of mailing to maximize the impact during voting on IMLS funding in June and July. Stop into a Madison Public Library location to fill out a postcard prior to Friday, July 18.

How Can I Support Madison Public Library Directly?

Friends of Madison Public Library BIG Book Sale 2024

Use it! When you visit our locations, check out materials, or utilize our online resources, it showcases the continued need for library services and the impact we're having on the community. Sign up for various email newsletters to learn about all the services and programs we offer.
Advocate for it! Use any of the resources above to reach out to your elected officials and let them know why you love libraries and want to see library funding protected. The American Library Association has helpful scripts, information about representative's voting records, and fillable email forms that you can send to your local reps to make your voice heard. And closer to home you can contact your Madison Common Council member to let them know that libraries are important to you.
Get involved! If you have the time or resources, consider volunteering, donating to the Madison Public Library Foundation, or joining a Friends group

Madison Public Library Director Tana Elias stands alongside Wisconsin Congressman Marc Pocan to advocate for libraries

What's Most Important Right Now?

The American Library Association has a #FundLibraries campaign with resources that make it easy to reach out to members of Congress with the most power to help protect library funding and make sure it gets included in the President's FY26 budget.

In May, the American Library Association's “Dear Appropriator” letters urged members of the Appropriations Committees to support funding for specific programs, like libraries. We’re on to the next stage of critical library advocacy for this year, and because our Wisconsin representatives serve on the Appropriations Committees in Congress (Senator Tammy Baldwin sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, while Congressman Marc Pocan sits on the House Appropriations Committee), we're in a unique position to make a difference. The Appropriations Committees are responsible for writing government spending bills - that means we have a unique chance to influence whether and how much funding for libraries gets included in next year’s federal budget.

Visit ALA's Fund Libraries webpage to send an email urging our representatives to include funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services in the budget for 2026.

Why Libraries Matter

Libraries are the heart of every community, providing critical access to information, technology, and lifelong learning. From job seekers accessing employment resources to students without internet at home, millions rely on their local libraries every day. Ensuring sustainable library funding isn’t a political issue—it’s an investment in education, economic opportunity, and civic engagement for all.

At Madison Public Library, we provide essential services in several ways:

Hosting more than 5,000 free programs each year for all ages
Offering free Wi-Fi and public computers at each of our nine library locations, resulting in 3.5 million Wi-Fi sessions in 2024
Serving as in-person absentee voting sites, doing voter registration throughout the year, and acting as polling locations during elections
Welcoming more than 1.25 million visitors into our spaces each year
Checking out more than 2.2 million books, CDs, DVDs, vinyl records, and other physical materials in 2024
Providing access to 50 online databases, the majority of which can be accessed remotely, including Consumer Reports, Newspaper Archives, New York Times Digital, Kanopy, and more.