At its March 20 meeting, the Ancram Town Board unanimously approved a proposition expressing its strong support for the Roeliff Jansen Community Library and “the essential services it provides to our residents.” The board urged Congress and New York state leaders to protect and prioritize funding for libraries.
The proposition, introduced by board member and library trustee Colleen Lutz, came in response to a March 14 executive order calling for the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) “to the maximum extent of the applicable law.” In 2024, the agency provided over $211 million to the nation’s 125,000 libraries, representing over 70% of their funding.
On March 15, IMLS published a directive titled “Agency Operations in the Absence of Appropriations.” According to the agency, only seven of its 77 staff members would remain employed upon completion of the “shutdown activities” detailed in the document.
Deputy Secretary of Labor Keith E. Sonderling was sworn in as the acting director of IMLS on March, 20. “It is an honor to be appointed by President Trump to lead this important organization in its mission to advance, support, and empower America’s museums and libraries, which stand as cornerstones of learning and culture in our society,” he said in a press release. “I am committed to steering this organization in lockstep with this administration to enhance efficiency and foster innovation. We will revitalize IMLS and restore focus on patriotism, ensuring we preserve our country’s core values, promote American exceptionalism and cultivate love of country in future generations.”
The Town of Hillsdale, which is also served by the Roe Jan library, had unanimously passed a measure similar to Ancram’s on March 18. “Libraries of all sizes, rural or urban, will feel the pain of this devastating loss of funding,” Hillsdale Town Supervisor Mike Dvorchak told the Herald. “It is very likely that here in Columbia County and all around the country, some libraries will be forced to cut services, some will cut hours, and some will close forever.”
Dvorchak said he drafted the proposition collaboratively with Hillsdale historians Lauren Letellier and Christopher Atkins, a library trustee. He expects the Copake Town Board to adopt a similar measure at its April meeting.
IMLS was established by Congress in 1996 to support libraries and museums through grants, policy development, and research. Last year New York received $8.1 million to support the state library’s Division of Library Development (DLD), which provides technology support and programming for library systems like the Mid-Hudson Library System. The federal funding also covers the salaries of the majority of the 84 staff members responsible for distributing federal and state aid to libraries across New York state — over $100 million last year.
The DLD also helps Mid-Hudson develop services tailored to fit local library needs. It funds 78% of Mid-Hudson’s $3.7 million annual operating budget — nearly $2.9 million.
Services and funding provided by the DLD are important to the operation of local libraries. Two years ago, when Roe Jan library had to replace a $35,000 electric panel separating the children’s library from the community room, the Mid-Hudson staff worked with the DLD to secure them a construction grant, popular with small and rural libraries who can’t afford large capital projects. In 2024, the DLD distributed $45 million in construction grants for a wide array of statewide library projects including parking lot repairs, building renovations, and broadband infrastructure improvements.
Roe Jan is one of 66 libraries in the Mid-Hudson LIbrary System, which serves Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Putnam, and Ulster counties. Rebecca Smith Aldrich, Mid-Hudson’s director, said the library system is collaborative. “We work together to find cost effective solutions. Mid-Hudson provides the online catalog system for our libraries; we provide training for administration, staff and trustees; and we make sure books are physically delivered from one library to another.”
Aldrich said the impact of federal funding cuts on the DLD would have a huge ripple effect in the local community. “IMLS money pays the DLD staff. These are the people that manage our grant money: If there’s no staff, we can’t access any funding.”
Tamara Gaskell, Roe Jan’s director, echoed Aldrich’s concerns. “We depend on the Mid-Hudson Library System for the digital lending platform, new equipment, reference materials, staff development, and so much more,” she said. “We are working with them on another construction grant to build an outdoor pavilion for children’s programs, concerts, and community use.”
Dee Ann Campbell, director of the Pine Plains Free Library was recently awarded a $10,000 privately-funded grant from the American Library Association to improve access for patrons with physical disabilities. Though the grant did not come from IMLS, Cambell voiced concern over future funding cuts to the agency. In her March 16, 2025 library newsletter, she wrote, “[T]he Executive order that dropped 3/14/25 kills the Institute of Museum and Library Services which supports libraries across the country, including our own Mid-Hudson Library Services. IMLS grants allow tiny libraries like ours to provide some of the same services that large libraries offer.”
Campbell said she was encouraged to see town boards supporting their libraries: “Their resolutions send strong messages to officials that libraries are important and worth fully funding,” she told the Herald.
State Assemblymember Didi Barrett (D-106) called cuts to IMLS “unconscionable” and said they “will do tremendous damage to our many local libraries, which are critical community resources.”
State Sen. Michelle Hinchey (D-41) noted that in rural areas libraries are “often the only place to access free, reliable internet, a calm space to study and learn, get tech help, seek services, or get involved in a local community group.” She added, “As the federal administration moves to disinvest in libraries, we are fighting back at the state level through our own budget, pushing for increased state support to make sure our libraries can continue to meet the needs of our communities.”