May 24, 2025
VIROQUA, Wis. – Lt. Governor Sara Rodriguez made stops at the Mcitosh Memorial Library and the Vernon County Museum in Viroqua last week to draw attention to federal cuts that could impact those facilities if they are implemented.
According to the Associated Press libraries across the country are cutting back e-books, audiobooks and loan programs two months after President Donald Trump ordered funding cuts to the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the federal agency that supports libraries.
The executive order, signed on March 14, is pending as lawsuits contesting its legality make their way through the courts. Nevertheless, the administration has already started cancelling grants and contracts and put almost all staff members on paid leave.
It’s unclear how many grants were cancelled, but a sizable amount of money is at stake: The Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded over $266 million in grants to states and territories in 2024.
The reductions in services coincide with a lawsuit filed by more than 20 state attorneys general (including Wisconsin) and the American Library Association to restore funding. They argue only Congress has the authority to control federal spending. E-book and audiobook programs are especially vulnerable to budget cuts, even though those offerings have exploded in popularity since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The institute’s annual budget is below $300 million and distributes less than half of that to state libraries across the country. In California, the state library was notified that about 20%, or $3 million, of its $15 million grant had been terminated.
“The small library systems are not able to pay for the e-books themselves,” said Wendt, the California state librarian.
In South Dakota, the state’s interlibrary loan program is on hold, according to Nancy Van Der Weide, a spokesperson for the South Dakota Department of Education.
The institute, founded in 1996 by a Republican-controlled Congress, also supports a national library training program named after former first lady Laura Bush that seeks to recruit and train librarians from diverse or underrepresented backgrounds. A spokesperson for Bush did not return a request seeking comment.
“Library funding is never robust. It’s always a point of discussion. It’s always something you need to advocate for,” said Liz Doucett, library director at Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick, Maine. “It’s adding to just general anxiety.”
Most libraries are funded by city and county governments, but receive a smaller portion of their budget from their state libraries, which receive federal dollars every year to help pay for summer reading programs, interlibrary loan services and digital books. Libraries in rural areas rely on federal grants more than those in cities.
Many states use the funding to pay for e-books and audiobooks, which are increasingly popular, and costly, offerings. In 2023, more than 660 million people globally borrowed e-books, audiobooks and digital magazines, up from 19% in 2022, according to OverDrive, the main distributor of digital content for libraries and schools.
In 2024 Wisconsin received a total of $4.8 million in federal funding for museums and libraries.
Lt Governor Rodriguez said she is concerned about the federal cuts given the the impact that rural and small communities feel.
“We’re losing a ton of funding at the federal level for arts and humanities,” said Rodriguez. “We’ve already seen the impacts of that, with Wisconsin Humanities basically having to close their doors. And you wouldn’t think that these federal cuts would affect a place like Viroqua, but it does. It affects your public library system. It affects these historical museums like you have here today. They’re going to be less able to do programs. They’re going to be less able to keep their doors open because of those federal cuts, and in Wisconsin, we have put dollars into our budget to try to make sure we’re supporting arts and humanities, and so that’s why we want to make sure we’re highlighting how important these types of organizations are for communities all over Wisconsin.”
if you go to the Wisconsin Humanities website there is a message on the organizations home page confirming they have shut down, but are trying to privately fund raise to keep programming alive.
After 50+ years of partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities, Wisconsin Humanities lost all federal funding on April 3 due to a directive from DOGE and the Trump Administration. As a result, Wisconsin Humanities is entering a temporary hibernation starting in June— halting all programs but doing everything we can to preserve what we’ve built.
Rodriguez said it is not just the loss of these specific programs, but the ripple effect the loss will have throughout communities.
“It trickles out into the community,” said Rodriguez. “You are able to do all these types of programs in the in the community, and some of those dollars come from federal monies. And if we don’t have that, moving forward, if all of those pieces are cut, you’re not going to see the type of programming that you have had in the past. And so what they’re doing on the federal level, it affects the state of Wisconsin, and then it affects all the way down to the local communities like Viroqua.’
McIntosh Memorial Library Director Trina Erickson said she is grateful the Rodriguez is taking the time to ask questions and see what can be done to keep the funding in place.
“I appreciate the Lt. Governor visiting Viroqua and McIntosh Memorial Library this week,” said Erickson. “Discussing the value of public libraries and the potential impact of loss of funding is an important conversation to have. I appreciate that she is willing to listen and help find ways to make sure we have the resources to keep operating.”
NADIA LATHAN Associated Press/Report for America contributed to this story.
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