Workforce Development, Support for Local Programs, Research, and Information Literacy Top the Agency’s FY25 Priorities

Washington, DC—On March 11, 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration released the President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2025. Following historic progress made under the President’s leadership—with over 14 million jobs added since the President took office and inflation down two-thirds from its peak—the Budget protects and builds on this progress with proposals for responsible, pro-growth investments in America and the American people. The President’s Budget will lower costs for the American people, protect and strengthen Social Security and Medicare, secure Americans at home and abroad, and reduce the deficit by ensuring the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share.

The Budget makes critical, targeted investments in the American people that will promote greater prosperity for decades to come. At the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Budget will:

• Invest in Workforce Development Opportunities. Critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity are essential to success in a global economy. Funding for the 21st Century Museum Professional Program (21MP) provides an opportunity for IMLS to make targeted investments to develop and enhance the diverse workforce of museum professionals in order to best anticipate and serve the needs of their local communities and the public and to help the field recover from the impact of the pandemic. Similarly, funding for the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program (LB21) supports developing a diverse workforce of librarians to better meet the changing learning and information needs of the American public.

• Support State Library Administrative Agencies to Prioritize Local Programs. The Grants to States program is the largest source of federal funding support for library services in the United States. IMLS funds enable State Library Administrative Agencies (SLAAs) to advance library services throughout each state and territory. In recent years, more than 10 percent of all Grants to States funding, tens of millions of dollars, go to support Libraries for the Blind and Print Disabled or Talking Book services. These programs reflect IMLS priorities, such as increasing access to library services and reaching underserved populations to promote literacy. Additionally, libraries play a significant role in providing digital access, fostering digital literacy, and encouraging adoption of Internet use, which impacts the health and vitality of communities.

• Launch the Inaugural National Museum Survey. IMLS’s efforts to answer calls for a reliable data collection about the nation’s museums intensified when the museum field acutely felt the absence of such a resource during the COVID-19 pandemic. In FY 2023, IMLS completed a pilot survey to support the development of a national survey of the nation’s museums to serve as part of the federal statistical system. The Agency plans to launch the Federal Government’s first statistically valid annual National Museum Survey data collection in FY 2025. The survey will collect foundational, high-level data directly from museums to inform policymakers, the museum field, and the public about the social, cultural, educational, and economic roles that the nation’s diverse museums play in American society.

• Promote Information Literacy. IMLS has been tasked with establishing an Information Literacy Taskforce and creating an online portal (website) to disseminate best practices on information literacy and toolkits. The website will be public in FY 2024, and IMLS plans to continue engagement with the Taskforce and support updates and improvements to the website. FY 2025 funding will enable IMLS to carry out crucial work that fulfills its statutory mandate and provides museums and libraries with up-to-date resources.

The Budget builds on the President’s record to date while achieving meaningful deficit reduction through measures that cut wasteful spending and ask the wealthy to pay their fair share.

For more information on the President’s FY 2025 Budget, please visit: https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/.

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. IMLS envisions a nation where individuals and communities have access to museums and libraries to learn from and be inspired by the trusted information, ideas, and stories they contain about our diverse natural and cultural heritage. To learn more, visit www.imls.gov and follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn.