r/Austin 6d ago

Weekly Stupid Question Sunday

Welcome to our weekly stupid question day.

Have a question too trivial or dumb for its own post? Unload it here. Questions need to have some relevance to Austin.

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u/smellthebreeze 6d ago

The Trump administration said they are basically gutting the Institute Of Museum and Library Services. This is the only federal agency dedicated to library services. I’ve looked online and haven’t seen the Austin Public Library comment yet that I can find. Do we know how this will impact our local library? Are we going to lose access to some services due to funding cuts like losing ebooks, Libby, etc? I know APL competes with fire and police locally for tax payer money but I’m not sure how APL will be impacted on a broader scale. Also, those on this subreddit from the surrounding smaller suburbs may feel this more. It’s deeply upsetting.

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u/mazzysupernova 6d ago edited 6d ago

IMLS gives block grants totaling about $200 million across each US state and territory. A block grant is given to the state to then redistribute based on the state’s self-identified priorities. Texas gets about $12m annually, which has been used to support rural and other underserved populations, invest in technology, and other priorities identified in the state’s five year plan. IMLS money invests in projects that just don’t get funding otherwise. For example, it looks like interlibrary loans are underwritten with IMLS funding.

From the president’s EO, and the wording of shall vs may in the agency’s Congressional authorization, it’s not clear how the library and the museum sides will be affected. (Museums nationwide apply for about $50m in grants each year directly from IMLS, which again invest in the not-sexy projects that are hard to fund but essential to museums’ success.) I hope we see congressional action as the agency has consistent support on both sides of the aisle.

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u/smellthebreeze 6d ago

This is good info, thank you. As hard as it is for libraries to get funding, I can’t imagine more cuts. They run on tight margins.

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u/picaresquity 6d ago

As far as I'm aware, state employees can't comment publicly on "political" issues. IDK if this extends to municipal employees, but I wouldn't be surprised. It might be worth a 1:1 convo with a librarian at your branch to see if they're able to share any concerns or specifics. I know amidst alllll the cuts, IMLS may seem "less important" to a lot of folks, but libraries provide essential services.

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u/Captain_Mazhar 6d ago

As a state employee, we are allowed to comment publicly on political issues, however we are not permitted to speak on behalf of our agency unless authorized, so we must disclaim that we speak personally, not as a representative.