Do you know how your local public library is funded?

The vast majority of public library funding comes from local revenue, such as property tax. A smaller portion comes from each State government with large variations across the country. It is easy to forget that the Federal government also supports local libraries.  Most of the revenue comes through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) that is distributed to the states through the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

This past year IMLS received additional funding outside the usual appropriations process. This first happened with the CARES Act. For example, my library in Palm Beach County received a competitive grant for $24,316 from CARES Act dollars. With the passage of the American Rescue Plan, $200 million more was appropriated to IMLS to support libraries in their COVID relief efforts.  The American Library Association is also advocating for a regular budget appropriation of $206 million for LSTA grants in the next Federal budget year.

You can ask your Federal elected officials to support more funding for LSTA through the ALA engage platform.

Also moving through Congress is the Build America’s Libraries Act.  According to ALA, if passed:

“The Build America’s Libraries Act would fund upgrades to the nation’s library infrastructure to address challenges such as natural disasters, COVID-19, broadband capacity, environmental hazards, and accessibility barriers. This groundbreaking legislation would pave the way for new and improved library facilities in underserved communities across the country. Join us in the effort to support this bill and #BuildLibraries.”

You can contact your local member of Congress and Senators to ask them to support this Act through the ALA engage platform.

To keep track of all these Federal funding streams, please visit the ALA Advocacy and Public Policy pages.