Institute of Museum and Library Services IMLS

The Museum and Library Services Act, signed on September 30, 1996, merged the Institute of Museum Services, created in 1976, with library programs run by the Education Department, which dated to the Library Services Act of 1956. The Institute of Museum and Library Services is led by a Director confirmed by the Senate and advised by a national board. Its annual budget has been under three hundred million dollars.

Most IMLS funding goes by formula to library agencies in every state and territory, which use it for internet access, digital resources, summer reading, job-seeking help, and services for rural and tribal libraries. IMLS also makes competitive grants to museums, libraries, zoos, aquariums, and archives for collections care, education programs, and training librarians, and it collects national data on public libraries. For many small and rural libraries, these funds pay for basic services.

On March 14, 2025, an executive order directed IMLS and several other small agencies to be cut to the minimum required by law, after which the agency placed most staff on leave and canceled many grants. Twenty-one states sued, and a federal court ordered the agency to restore grants and staff while the case proceeded. After the states won a ruling in November 2025, the administration dropped its appeal and in April 2026 settled a separate suit by library groups, agreeing that all canceled grants had been reinstated, staff cuts reversed, and no further reductions would be made, though its fiscal 2027 budget again proposed eliminating the agency. Supporters of the order said libraries and museums are local responsibilities, while state librarians and lawmakers of both parties said the cuts threatened services relied on by rural communities and schools.