ALA Urges Supporters to Contact Congresspeople with a #FundLibraries Message

Responding to the White House effort to decimate the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which provides congressionally appropriated funding to libraries nationwide, the American Library Association has announced a #FundLibraries campaign, directed at the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. On the #FundLibraries site, constituents can find out whether their Senate and House reps have signed in support of library funding, and then can send letters to representatives. 

The #FundLibraries campaign focuses on appropriations for fiscal year 2026, which begins October 1. For the IMLS to continue operating, Congress must include funding for the agency through the Library Services and Technology Act. 

“Under the first Trump Administration, libraries overcame threats to eliminate IMLS for four years straight,” ALA President Cindy Hohl wrote in a statement. “Our combined advocacy not only preserved the agency but increased federal funding for libraries—and with bipartisan support.” 

In addition to protecting IMLS, ALA argues, Congress also must continue funding Innovative Approaches to Literacy. IAL is a discretionary grant program through the Department of Education that promotes school libraries and K–12 student literacy. 

Each year, the ALA’s Public Policy and Advocacy Office partners with congressional staff to distribute “Dear Appropriator” letters, encouraging support of libraries, and #FundLibraries is meant to raise public awareness of this process. Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, and Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts are working with the ALA to help circulate the letters this time around. 

“Now is the time to remind elected leaders of what libraries have achieved for communities,” Hohl said. “All of us will feel the impact if Congress fails to continue its historic and nonpartisan federal support for libraries.”