Patrons of the Crawfordsville District Public Library will be interested to know that President Trump recently signed an executive order gutting funding for the national Institute of Museum & Library Services. What does this mean for us? Like many public libraries, our library uses funding from the Institute to support crucial and popular services, including Libby, the app which allows us to check out and read or listen to books electronically; expansive resources on local genealogy, history, and culture; our interlibrary loan program, including loans of books and other items from other libraries in a global network of libraries; and access to many learning and research databases. Moreover, resources for visually or print-impaired patrons are now in jeopardy. It is unclear how the lost funding of these programs will be recovered going forward; our budget is already stretched thin. In other words, we stand to lose our free access to a world of knowledge and joy.
Collections and services at the Crawfordsville District Public Library are in danger — as they are at public libraries across the nation. The promise of libraries is to open doors, but this executive order slams them shut. We urge you to contact your federal representatives, Senators Todd Young and Jim Banks, and voice your discontent with the defunding of the Institute of Museum & Library Services. In the words of the Indiana Library Federation, “We must act now to protect the future of libraries and the communities they serve.”
We, the undersigned, are current members of the Board of Trustees of the Crawfordsville District Public Library. While this is not an official board position, it is a plea for action from a politically diverse group of people who believe in the power of libraries.
Crystal Benedicks
Owen Bennett
Josh Brewer
Steve Parke
Marilyn Smith
