Books and More

Sign up for weekly e-mail updates on the new materials we have!

Type of Item

Online Resources and Databases

Library Research Offerings Reduced

 

On March 14, 2025 President Trump signed Executive Order 14238 eliminating the Institute of Museum and Library Services to (IMLS) “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.” IMLS is the single largest source of critical federal funding for libraries. In the President’s FY2026 budget IMLS is eliminated.

Federal Funding Impact

 

Through IMLS, for FY2025 the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) was allocated $3.6 million to support statewide library services and grants to local libraries. The MBLC currently spends close to $2.2 million of its federal allocation to fund statewide research databases. On average 60% of database usage comes from schools. Last year, there were over 9 million full text downloads from these databases, an increase of 12% in just one year. With no federal funding, the amount that the MBLC can now spend on databases is $500,000.

In-library use only
In-library use only