When politicians come after public libraries it gets my dander up. Libraries have become part of who I am and without them we would all be something less. The administration, which doesn’t give a fig about me and what I think, is at it again.

The president’s proposed budget seeks to eliminate funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). It may sound familiar: in 2025, the administration, working with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), attempted to drastically shrink or effectively dismantle the agency—placing staff on leave, freezing or cutting grants, and issuing an executive order to reduce it to a “minimum presence.” In response, people across the country and across the political spectrum took the fight to court, where federal judges blocked most of those efforts. The outcome underscores a simple truth: public libraries and museums continue to matter deeply to both rural and urban communities.

Mine is a simple question: Why can’t the fact that we love our public libraries and museums be enough to ensure their persistence?

What does IMLS do? It is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 35,000 museums. IMLS provides grants to libraries that need to replace technology and infrastructure. Among other things, they are directly involved with funding Inter-library Loans, Books for the Blind, preserving veterans’ stories, funding resources for those associated with people who are autistic, providing disaster preparedness for libraries and museum, sustaining Native American libraries, and more. Could we live without these services? Maybe, but not as well.

I read the Republican arguments about ending federal funding for libraries and museums, saying they should be managed by the states. If IMLS goes away, as the administration’s budget proposes, it would affect a number of local museums that rely on project-based grants to fund operations. These museums include the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, the African American Museum of Iowa, and the Iowa Children’s Museum. All of these are sources of pride in the community.

Yes, our federal elected officials may tire of us calling so frequently. However, our public resistance is how we tell them we care about our libraries and museums even if politicians don’t.

The U.S. Capitol switchboard phone number is (202) 224-3121. You can call this number to be connected directly to any Senator’s or Representative’s office by providing your zip code or the name of your representative. Let them know how you feel about shuttering IMLS.