Monday, January 13, 2020
On December 20, 2019, the federal fiscal year (FY) 2020 budget passed Congress, and it included an increase of $10 million for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) with $6.2 million of that increase going to the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Grants to States program. The total for the Grants to States program – the single largest component of the IMLS budget – rose to a total of $166,803,000. This investment in public libraries from the federal IMLS to state and territory libraries is granted based on their population.
In Wisconsin, the Division for Libraries and Technology uses this funding to achieve goals that are prioritized in the 2018-2022 LSTA Five-Year Plan for Wisconsin. Funding from the FY 2020 budget (estimated around $3 million) will be used for a number of activities including to promote collaboration between public libraries and school libraries, to implement Public Library System Redesign (PLSR) recommendations that will improve services and access for library users, and to continue providing statewide services like the interlibrary loan (ILL) program through the WISCAT platform and consulting for school and public libraries.
The Division for Libraries and Technology will continue to fund statewide initiatives and offer collaborative grant subaward opportunities for public libraries, school libraries, and public library systems with FY 2020 LSTA funding. These grant opportunities enhance system continuing education efforts and promote collaborations in communities, regionally, and across the state. The Division will notify eligible entities as we make grant opportunities available.
More information about how Wisconsin supports libraries with LSTA funding is available on our Wisconsin Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) page.