by Joe Miller,
Director of Development
As a rule, we try to stay away from both politics and religion in this column. We are the library for all Pocahontas County residents and visitors. We want every person who sets foot in our county to feel welcome, both inside our libraries and in this column.
But we are also a public institution. That means the bulk of our funding comes either directly or indirectly from tax dollars. And that, in turn, means that sometimes libraries are a topic of political discussion.
Last week, President Trump signed an executive order stating that the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) must be reduced to “statutory functions” and that “non-statutory components and functions…shall be eliminated to the maximum extent.”
Now you might be wondering how that matters for Pocahontas County Libraries.
The direct impact could be relatively small. But a lot turns on how the order is interpreted.
Most of our core funding comes from the county, and we are fortunate that the county funds library services generously. County funds are supplemented by donations from area businesses and by individual donations from both current and former county residents.
Around 11% of our cash funding comes from the state. We also receive a number of what are called in-kind contributions from the state.
For example, state programs pay for the library’s internet access. They provide special infrastructure grants that do things like replace the roof on McClintic Library. They fund the bulk of Libby—our program for providing digital books, magazines and audio books. And they provide many of the online databases available to our patrons.
West Virginia funds those library services partly through state revenue and partly through grants from IMLS.
That block grant program is one of IMLS’s statutory requirements, so according to the text of the executive order, those funds should continue to flow.
But that assumes the executive order is followed. The American Library Association (ALA) and EveryLibrary—nonprofits who advocate for strong public libraries—have point-ed out that the executive orders about the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contained similar language. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ignored President Trump’s directive and instead ended nearly all USAID grant programs.
ALA and EveryLibrary worry that the same thing could happen with IMLS.
If that were to happen, our libraries would have to cut services.
The entire IMLS budget is around 0.0078% of federal spending. To put that in perspective, 0.0078% of a $50,000 salary is $3.90. You’re not going to get far in balancing your budget by saving roughly a gallon of gas over the course of a year.
But the federal equivalent of an extra gallon of gas means that rural libraries can offer the same kinds of services available in affluent suburban communities.
In early April, members of the West Virginia Library Commission will travel to D.C. to ask our Congressional delegation to make the case for continued IMLS funding. Hallie and I will be in Charleston next week to meet with our state delegates and senator.
If you are concerned about the future of library funding here in the county, I encourage you to call Representative Miller and Senators Capito and Justice.
This concludes the politics column.
Next week, we’ll be talking about books and announcing an exciting new program we’ll be piloting in April!
