Update on IMLS

an important link and action items from Kelly Jensen

Things are happening so fast it’s hard to keep up — and I confess, I’d lost the train of what was going on with IMLS. Fortunately, Kelly Jensen did not. The timeline she created is here:

A Timeline and Update on the Institute for Museum and Library Services

Please at least scan this.

A few points I’d like to highlight.

• Restoration of grants via lawsuit ONLY applies to those states who have joined the lawsuits. Virginia’s attorney general, Jason Miyares, is MAGA all the way and has joined nothing. Consider that when you vote this November. Update from a knowledgeable follower:

Just an FYI: the restoration of funds for IMLS grants does not seem to be tied to the states who signed onto the lawsuits. Learned on Friday that the Virginia Department of Historic Resources has had an IMLS grant restored and they are able to bring back the person they hired with the grant. I'm not sure how many other Virginia grants have been restored, but I think it's a more complex situation than whether a state joined a lawsuit.

• Kelly provides a link to Sonderling’s May 19 declaration in Rhode Island et al. v Trump. The disrespect and disdain for librarians and other staff working for IMLS is stunning. This is in an official court document.

• There’s a lot of legal action, but the bottom line is that there is NO funding for IMLS in that big bitch of a bill. This admin is good at running out the legal clock.

• Besides the usual calls to action (calling and writing legislators - you are still doing that, right? Don’t stop.), Kelly is collecting evidence of impact from the library side.

  • If you work in or are affiliated with a library that is impacted - loss of a grant, loss of staff, having to cut back services, etc.) please enter your information. You do not need to include personally identifying info if it is not safe to do so. We know the government is not going to collect impact info, and news coverage is scattered at best. Kelly provides link to a Google Doc, but I want you to read her directions.

    

    Be the honeysuckle. Sweet and persistent.

This is only for IMLS — I’ll try to get an update on Library of Congress and other library news soon.

Meanwhile, spend some time with people you like, raise your voice where and when you can. I’d like to give a shout out to all of the artists and musicians who have used their platforms to share information and encourage resistance.

Surviving this nightmare is going to require all of us speaking up, whether we have the capacity to reach thousands, or just one at a time.

Meanwhile, make sure you get some rest too.