President’s FY 2022 Budget Request Includes $265 Million for the Institute of Museum and Library Services
Proposed Budget Recognizes IMLS’s Critical Programs and Services

Washington, DC—President Biden released the Administration’s FY 2022 Budget Request to Congress on May 28, which includes $265,000,000 for the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

The agency’s Congressional Justification, which contains detailed information on the President’s Budget Request, is now available on the IMLS website.

IMLS, which marks its 25th anniversary this year, advances, supports, and empowers America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development. The agency’s programs reach all types of libraries, including public, academic, school, tribal, and research; and all types of museums, including botanic gardens, aquariums, and zoos, as well as art, history, science, children’s, and Tribal museums.

The President’s proposed FY 2022 request recognizes and builds upon the agency’s critical programs that have worked to sustain museums, libraries, and American communities before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. It emphasizes equity with respect to library, museum, and information services for the nation, and includes support for museum services in the areas of African American and Latino history and culture.

“Museums and libraries are crucial to culture and community in our country, representing civilizational values, local heritage, and the aspirations of each individual in the community to share in and develop that heritage. They bring us together in many voices in a great resounding chorus,” said IMLS Director Crosby Kemper. “The administration’s budget request recognizes the resiliency, the diversity, the reach into self and community development that they promote.”

Highlights from the budget request include:

• $197,472,000 for library grant programs authorized by the Library Services and Technology Act:
  • Grants to State Library Administrative Agencies
  • Native American and Native Hawaiian Library Services
  • Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
  • National Leadership Grants for Libraries

• $37,284,000 for museum grants authorized by the Museum Services Act:
  • Museums for America
  • Museums Empowered
  • Inspire! Museum Grants for Small Museums
  • Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Services
  • National Leadership Grants for Museums

• $5,231,000 for the grant program authorized by the African American History and Culture Act;

• $4,000,000 for the grant program authorized by the National Museum of the American Latino Act;

• $4,513,000 to support and conduct policy research, data collection, analysis and modeling, evaluation, and dissemination of information to extend and improve the nation’s museum, library, and information services.

COVID-19 has amplified the importance of the nation’s museums and libraries as trusted institutions that provide vital services to the communities they serve. Since the beginning of the pandemic, IMLS has maximized investments in the museum and library communities through the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act. Strategic partnerships, such as the REopening Archives, Libraries, and Museums (REALM) research project, along with the agency's ongoing grant programs, have also provided financial and informational support to museums and libraries as they responded to the crisis.

For more information about the FY 2022 budget request, please visit the IMLS website.

About the Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s libraries and museums. We advance, support, and empower America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development. Our vision is a nation where museums and libraries work together to transform the lives of individuals and communities. To learn more, visit www.imls.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.