The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is an independent agency of the United States federal government established in 1996. It is the main source of federal support for libraries and museums within the United States, having the mission to "advance, support, and empower America's museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development". It has provided much of the funding for interlibrary loan programs in the United States.
In 2025 President Donald Trump issued an executive order that directed that the IMLS be eliminated "to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law", along with several other agencies. An ongoing lawsuit determined that the order was probably unconstitutional and the dismantling was temporarily blocked while the case continued through the courts.
History and purpose
IMLS was established by the Museum and Library Services Act (MLSA) on September 30, 1996, which includes the Library Services and Technology Act and the Museum Services Act. It consolidated the activities of the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science.Blumenstein, Lynn. 2008. "Closing NCLIS Looks Back and Forward". Library Journal 133 (9): 20–21. The MLSA was reauthorized in 2003 and again in 2010. The law combined the Institute of Museum Services,The Nature and Level of Federal Support for Museums in Fiscal Years 1985 and 1986 : a Federal Study Mandated by Congress and Conducted by the Institute of Museum Services on Behalf of the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities, Submitted to Congress February 1988. Washington, D.C.?: Federal Council on the Arts and Humanities, 1988.Hearing on the Reauthorization of the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for Humanities, and the Institute of Museum Services Hearing before the Subcommittee on Labor-Management Relations of the Committee on Education and Labor, House of Representatives, One Hundred Third Congress, First Session, Hearing Held in Washington, DC, June 17, 1993. Washington: U.S. G.P.O., 1993. which had been in existence since 1976 as part of the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities, and the Library Programs Office of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement"Library Unit in Ed. Dept. Is Renamed, Reshuffled. (Office of Libraries & Learning Technologies = Center for Education Improvement's Library Programs Div.)". American Libraries (Chicago, Ill.) 14 (1983): 72Ottina, John R. 1974. "United States Office of Education and the Library Role". American Libraries 5 (June): 315. which had been part of the Office of Education under various names since 1937.Joeckel, Carleton B. (1936) "The New Federal Library Agency." Bulletin of the American Library Association 30, No. 7 (July): 529
Lawmakers saw "great potential in an Institute that is focused on the combined roles that libraries and museums play in our community life."Marcum, D. (2014). Archives, Libraries, Museums: Coming Back Together? Information & Culture, 49(1), 74-89. As amended, MLSA authorizes IMLS to promote improvements in library services; to facilitate access to resources in libraries; to encourage resource sharing among libraries; to support museums in fulfilling their public service and educational roles; to encourage leadership and innovation to enhance museum services; to assist museums in the conservation of America's heritage; to support museums in achieving the highest standards of management and service to the public; and to support resource sharing among museums, libraries and other organizations. MLSA also authorizes IMLS to carry out and publish analyses of the impact of museum and library services.
Following a proposal by President George W. Bush, the activities of the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science was consolidated under IMLS, along with some of the activities of the National Center for Education Statistics, in order to create a unified body for federal support of library and information policy."IMLS Gets Feedback on NCLIS Consolidation", "American Libraries", 8(8): 8. The consolidation took effect in early 2008.
The agency is a member of the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities, along with the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
In creating IMLS, Congress observed that the federal library and museum programs are far reaching, spanning cultural, educational, scientific, and information policy matters. Congress declared in the institute’s authorizing legislation, “Democracy demands wisdom and vision in its citizens,” and an important role of the federal government is to promote education and access to information for people of all backgrounds, wherever located. By supporting museums and libraries throughout the nation, IMLS enables these organizations to carry out their public service role of connecting the whole of society with the cultural, artistic, historical, natural, and scientific understandings that constitute our heritage.
The Agency helps to ensure that all Americans have access to museum, library, and information services, and invests in new and exploratory approaches, as well as proven and tested methods. IMLS reports that it funds work that advances collective knowledge, lifelong learning, and cultural and civic engagement, as well as projects that support broadband access and advancing digital literacy, learning and education, civic engagement, climate change, and services that address historic and growing inequities. The Agency also builds capacity within the museum and library fields to enable better service to communities through workforce development grants and to enhance community decision making by sharing trends and data.
IMLS supports a vast range of museums, including art, history, natural history, and children’s museums, zoos, science and technology centers, historic houses, nature centers, and botanical gardens. Similarly, IMLS invests in libraries across America, including public, academic, tribal, research, and special libraries, as well as other eligible institutions like archives, nonprofit cultural organizations, and universities.
IMLS is the largest source of federal funding for libraries in the nation, directing population-based funding to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the US territories, and Freely Associated States through its Grants to States program. In FY2022, IMLS awarded $257.2M to institutions across the country, of which $168.8M was through its Grants to States program.
In addition to its other responsibilities, IMLS annually awards the National Medal for Museum and Library Service, which is the nation’s highest honor for institutions that make significant and exceptional contributions to their communities. Since 1994, IMLS has presented the award to outstanding libraries and museums of all types and sizes that deeply impact their communities.
In fiscal year 2023, IMLS had a budget of $313.58 million. As of 2023, IMLS currently has 70 full-time employees, many of whom still work remotely. In 2022, the employees voted to unionize, joining hundreds of thousands of federal workers who have joined the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) to “build power and have a voice at work.”
The act comes up for reauthorization about every seven years. It was most recently reauthorized on December 31, 2018 by President Donald J. Trump (PL 115-410).
Executive order issued by President Trump in 2025 On March 14, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order virtually eliminating IMLS that directed that "the non-statutory components and functions ... shall be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law, and such entities shall reduce the performance of their statutory functions and associated personnel to the minimum presence and function required by law", along with minimizing several other agencies. The entire 70 person staff was put on leave on March 31, 2025.
The American Library Association (ALA) released the statement that the elimination of the IMLS would harm American libraries and museums, especially impacting rural communities. It urged to continue the support for libraries and called people to join the "Show Up for Our Libraries" campaign. The American Alliance of Museums also released the statement that the Trump action "threatens the critical roles museums and museum workers play in American society, and puts jobs, education, conservation, and vital community programs at risk", and called for action. The ALA also has stated that through this executive order that the administration is effectively "cutting off at the knees the most beloved and trusted of American institutions and the staff and services they offer.”
On May 1, 2025, a lawsuit brought by the American Library Association and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees resulted in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granting a limited temporary restraining order to block any further actions to dissolve IMLS.Federal Court Halts Dismantling of Federal Library Agency in ALA Lawsuit American Library Association, May 1, 2025. On September 11, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld the District Court decision, denying the Administration's request for a stay of that order. On November 21, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island was receptive to arguments that the Trump administrations's attempt to shutter IMLS was illegal and unconstitutional and temporarily blocked Trump's executive order to dismantle the agency while the case continued to work through the courts. IMLS announced Dec. 3, 2025, that it had reinstated all federal grants cut by Trump earlier in the year. Congress will next decide whether to fund IMLS in FY26.
Leadership When Congress passed the Library Services and Technology Act in 1996, it moved library responsibilities out of the Department of Education and created the IMLS as a new agency. The act stipulated that the agency maintain a rotating directorship starting with the former director of the Institute of Museum Services for a four-year term. In the fifth year, the directorship would pass to a representative from the field of library and information science. Each new director is appointed by the current president and confirmed by the Senate for a four-year term.
Directors
Diane Frankel (1996) Robert S. Martin (2001)"Texas Librarian Picked to Head IMLS". 2001. American Libraries 32 (6): 22. Anne-Imelda Radice (2006) Radice returned to IMLS in 2018 and currently serves as a senior advisor in the Office of the Director. Susan H. Hildreth (2011) Kathryn K. Matthew (2015) Crosby Kemper III (2020) Cyndee Landrum (Acting Director) (2024) Keith E. Sonderling (Acting Director) (2025)White House Announces Keith E. Sonderling as IMLS Acting Director. Institute of Museum and Library Services (March 20, 2025).
National Museum and Library Services Board IMLS and the director are advised by the National Museum and Library Services Board, The board, a 24-member advisory body that includes the IMLS director, the deputy director for the Office of Library Services, the deputy director for the Office of Museum Services, the general counsel, and 20 presidentially appointed individuals, advises on general policy and practices and helps with the selections for the National Medals for Museum and Library Service.
Current members The council members :