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A message from MHLS Executive Director, Rebekkah Smith Aldrich:
Last week we saw both the state legislature release their one-house budget bills and the President issued an Executive Order calling for the elimination of the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Both have grave consequences for our small, but mighty library community here in the Hudson Valley. I apologize for asking for your efforts on both the state and federal advocacy fronts, but this is what this moment calls for.
State Advocacy:
With utmost speed, library advocates need to reach out to your State Senator and State Assemblyperson to let them know that neither the Executive budget nor the one-house budget bills go far enough in funding library operating aid and construction aid for libraries in the context of reality. We certainly appreciate their proposed increases, and that appreciation should be expressed, but we also need to bring home the urgency behind our message: don't weaken our library systems by continuing this pattern of underfunding. We have limited time to influence the outcome of the state budget which is due to be complete by April 1.
What underfunding of MHLS means for your library:
MHLS receives 78% of its operating aid through the NYS Budget. State funding has failed to keep up with inflation which means our purchasing power has greatly diminished. Our ability to maintain critical services like delivery, ILS support, consulting, and continuing education as well as critical categorical aid programs like the Central Library Services Program - which funds the OverDrive platform, OverDrive content, including eMagazines, Transparent Language and JobNow are all compromised.
With more than $34 million in reported construction needs from member libraries, the $1.2 million our region receives from the State Aid for Library Construction Program is also not keeping pace. Members are contending with issues such as basic accessibility, energy efficiency, and protecting our facilities from the impact of climate hazards.
Please call today. Contact information for your state legislators can be found here.
You can also email stakeholders through the New York State Library Association (NYLA) Urgent Call to Action!
Federal Advocacy:
The call to eliminate IMLS marks a dark day in our nation's history. This organization has invested in the future of Americans for 30 years providing funding for library jobs, research, and groundbreaking projects that have influenced everything from the adoption of the internet in libraries to the adoption of makerspaces in libraries to how libraries contribute to social wellbeing and community resilience. In fact, I got my first library job thanks to an IMLS-funded project here at MHLS.
What the executive order means for your library:
IMLS administers the Grants to States program, a congressionally mandated program that completely funds the NYS Division of Library Development's (DLD) operations. While MHLS does not directly receive federal funding through this program, we greatly rely on DLD to facilitate the funding we do get from New York State. Defunding DLD will have a ripple effect that could greatly compromise our ability to access the state aid, described above, that is critical to our operations.
Please call today. Contact information for your federal legislators can be found here.
Now is the perfect time to be investing in libraries. Help your legislators understand that libraries are on the front lines of helping residents during this intense era of misinformation/disinformation, division among neighbors, and reduced investment in federal services.
You can also email stakeholders through the New York State Library Association (NYLA) Urgent Call to Action!
Thank you for all you do - every day and in every way - to make the Hudson Valley a wonderful place to live and raise our families. Your work matters and makes a difference to those you serve.
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