Spotlight: Institute for Museum and Library Services (DC)

By Debra S. Friedmann

Combining the number of all Starbucks and McDonald's locations will still not come close to the number of museums and libraries in all of the United States. According to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (the “IMLS” or the “Institute”), an independent government agency dedicated to the innovation and improvement of libraries and museums around the country, there are some 35,000 museums and 123,000 libraries in the U.S. These numbers are collected and reviewed biannually.

IMLS was created through the Museum and Library Services Act in 1996, an amendment to the Museum Services Act, within the National Foundation for the Arts. The Institute is currently  headed by Dr. Kathryn K. Matthew, who was recently confirmed by the senate in September 2015 for a four-year term. The President’s National Museums and Libraries Services Board advises the IMLS director on general policy and practices, in addition to selections for the National Medals for Museum and Library Service. The Institute, made up of approximately sixty employees receives funding through the federal congressional appropriations process, signed by the U.S. President.

The 114th Congress House of Representatives report on the budget for the 2016 fiscal year sought to eliminate the budget for the IMLS claiming that supporting museums and libraries is not a core federal responsibility.  The report instead puts the burden on the state and local governments to support these institutions, supplemented by charitable contributions from the private sector. President Obama on the other had requested a budget of $237,427,957 for the Institute. With much additional support from the museum and library community, including advocates from the American Museum Alliance, IMLS overcame this hurdle will be allotted funds with the completion of the 2016 budget.