Thursday, October 4, 2018
On September 28, 2018, President Trump signed the fiscal year 2019 budget into law. The budget includes a $2 million increase for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) from the prior year budget for a total of $242 million. The sustained, national effort to share library stories has demonstrated the importance of funding public libraries to build stronger communities. Sharing these stories resulted in federal action – imagine the results you can realize in your local community by sharing your story!
$1 million of that increase is directed to be used to improve research, evaluation, and data collection efforts at IMLS. IMLS collects library statistics and financial information that Wisconsin public libraries submit to the Department of Public Instruction in the form of the Annual Report and grant program applications and evaluations. IMLS allows users to explore public library data through the IMLS Data Catalog.
The additional funding to support research, evaluation, and data collection is also in step with the reintroduced S. 3530 and newly introduced H.R. 6988 bills to reauthorize the Museum and Library Services Act. The American Library Association touts the bills will include a provision for the “greater use of data-driven tools to measure the impact and maximize the effectiveness of library services.”
The increased funding for efforts to improve research, evaluation, and data collection will streamline data collection, focus on community impacts, and meet the educational and informational needs of data users while setting the stage for a national public library data framework. This will allow public libraries to increase their value and have a stronger role and impact in their communities. Libraries are a smart investment.