As many of you know, there has been a series of funding cuts by federal and state agencies. We are now starting to feel the effects of those cuts here at your Brentwood Public Library. On March 14, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order to eliminate the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). This federal agency is responsible for distributing congressionally appropriated funds to state libraries.

            Your Brentwood Public Library Board of Trustees, along with libraries throughout Missouri and the nation, strongly opposes this decision. This action could have serious financial consequences for your Brentwood Library and an even more serious impact on rural and smaller libraries. IMLS funding is crucial for a variety of services and resources in our local libraries: resource sharing, technology updates, digital preservation, staff training, and other programs.

            In Brentwood, we have already felt the effect: a previously approved grant of $1,600 for our summer reading program has been canceled. We WILL find the funds for our popular summer reading program, but the cut will have an impact on other areas. We have also lost $3,175 in grant funds for migrating our old system to the new Missouri Evergreen Consortium catalog. It appears that we will be losing funds for delivering books and resources between the Missouri Library Consortium and the larger Missouri Evergreen Consortium. These are just three examples of how the funding cuts will specifically affect your Brentwood library. As we prepare for our exciting new library in 2026, we are very cost-conscious in our everyday operations and these cuts present new challenges. We urge lawmakers and the public to advocate for continued IMLS funding to ensure that we can achieve our mission statement here at the Brentwood Public Library: “to provide a place for the community to come together to connect, learn, and grow; to encourage enjoyment of reading and lifelong learning; to provide free and open access and expression; and to promote knowledge, history, and culture.” Thank you for your support.

What can you do to help?

  • Call or email a message to your Senators and Representative urging them to overturn this order and restore and protect IMLS funding.
  • Write a letter to the editor in your local newspaper explaining why IMLS is important to your community and the impact of federal dollars.
  • Share your story for the American Library Association’s story collection about the impact of federal funding on your community.
  • Become a supporter of your library, the Missouri Library Association, and the American Library Association.