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May 7, 2025
Contact: Jennie Stapp (406) 444-3384
There is a lot to report regarding the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and our Grants to States funding.
This morning, Connecticut, Washington, and California all received word that their FY 24 Grants to States awards were being reinstated after being terminated in mid-April. They also received the partial award notice for their FY 25 grants that the remaining states received a couple of weeks ago. In the notice of their partial award, they were told that the partial award was pending “final apportionment from the Office of Management and Budget. At that time, we (meaning IMLS) will issue the remainder of your FY2025 award … which we anticipate will be similar to last year.” This news is very encouraging as we prepare our state fiscal year 26 budget.
Also, this morning there was a ruling in the multi-state lawsuit that granted a preliminary injunction against the Administration. This ruling follows a ruling in the suit brought by the employee union and ALA that granted a temporary restraining order against any further adverse actions from IMLS. That order was effective through today. An appeal in the multi-state suit is likely and we await further information on what the ruling means.
In addition to learning that the three state libraries had their funds restored, we have also learned of at least one successful appeal of the termination of a discretionary grant in another state library. For this reason, we encourage anyone who had their federal IMLS grants terminated to appeal that decision.
President Trump’s FY26 budget proposal calls for the elimination of IMLS along with the Nation Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. This news is not a surprise. During his previous administration, his budgets also called for the defunding of IMLS.
It is now up to Congress to pass a budget. Dear appropriator letters are circling in both the House and Senate calling for full support and funding for IMLS.
This news is some of the most positive we have received since learning of the executive order that targeted IMLS on March 14. Thank you for all your support.
Jennie
The Montana State Library helps all organizations, communities, and Montanans thrive through excellent library resources and services. For more information about the Montana State Library, visit http://msl.mt.gov. For more information about programs at the State Library, contact Jennie Stapp, State Librarian, at (406) 444-3116 or via e-mail at: jstapp2@mt.gov.
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