Library Resources to Take Hit After Federal Funding Cuts

President Donald Trump has promised his administration will cut federal spending to eliminate waste and make the government work more efficiently. East Lansing Public Library Director Kevin King said cuts in the president’s latest executive order will hurt a government service that is working. 

Recently, Trump issued an executive order eliminating the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). IMLS is the largest source of federal funding for libraries. About $4.8 million from IMLS went to the Library of Michigan, according to a press release from the Michigan Department of Education. 

This money went a long way, King said. Most notably, it helped fund the statewide Michigan eLibrary  (MeL) and Michigan eLibrary Catalogue (MeLCat). MeL and MeLCat are the systems Michigan libraries share resources through. 

If a patron requests an item, usually a book, that ELPL does not have, library employees can access a database through MeLCat that includes the catalogues of all 435 libraries that are in the system. ELPL can then have that item shipped over, so it can be accessed locally. Without MeLCat ELPL would essentially be limited to the materials within its walls. 

If the goal of spending cuts is rooting out inefficiencies, eliminating MeLCat does not make sense to King. 

“When we talk about government efficiency, it’s one of the most efficient things I know of,” he said. “You can request material from Marquette, Michigan, and it can get down to East Lansing within a week.”

From Feb. 2024 to Feb. 2025, ELPL received 11,958 items from other libraries through MeLCat. During the same period, it shared 11,985 items with other libraries, according to data provided by ELPL. 

ELPL is a fairly large library and its in-house collection will continue to be strong. However, library members with unique requests are much more likely to be out of luck without MeLCat. The system allows libraries to have access to a trove of titles without breaking the bank on obscure books for their own collection, King explained.

But access to books is not the only thing that could be on the cutting block. 

King explained that subscription newspapers and magazines, as well as online modules that help students prepare for tests like the SAT and ASVAB are a part of the MeL system and could be lost. MeL also offers workforce development and career preparedness trainings that provide insight on how to get jobs and make career advancements. 

“I come in here almost every day and there’s someone working on a resume,” King said. “This is an equalizer of an institution.”

King said MeLCat is currently funded through September, after which the system’s future is in doubt. He said before MeLCat, libraries would sometimes form regional co-ops to share resources. Similar partnerships may be formed if MeLCat is shuttered, but King explained that it would take time to form delivery schedules and make computer systems compatible. 

The MeLCat system has been in place for 20 years. If it is discontinued, there is no clear path to replicate the services and connections between libraries that currently exist. 

“To have this well thought-out and well planned delivery system, that took years to plan out–and we’ve got it–and it’s going to go,” King said. “That’s a huge loss.”

While the loss to ELPL will be significant, King said the elimination of MeLCat will be felt even more by smaller libraries that don’t have as much funding to build up in-house collections.

In addition to supporting MeLCat, IMLS funds are distributed to libraries based on the size of the community they serve. King said ELPL will lose roughly $48,000. About half of this is spent on cooperative support, he added. 

King clarified that the direct financial impact is manageable for ELPL, which is primarily funded by property tax millages. However, King added that ELPL does not have another significant federal funding source, and he expects grants to become more competitive, as libraries around the state look to make up for the lost resources. 

It’s hard to put a dollar amount on the value that MeLCat brings to ELPL. 

“If you made me choose between [keeping] the 48,000 [dollars] or the MelCat system, I’m taking the MeLCat system,” King said. 

Earlier this year, the Trump administration announced a surprise freeze on federal grants that would paralyze nonprofit organizations and other essential services. Locally, a homeless shelter was unable to access its federal grant accounts and area early learning centers closed for a day because they were unsure if they would be able to pay their employees. 

This freeze, however, was blocked by a judge and agencies were able to access their funds within days of the initial order. King isn’t anticipating the IMLS funds will be reinstated. 

“I don’t feel good, let’s just say that,” King said. 

King added that library workers are used to “doing more with less” because libraries have been underfunded by the state throughout his career.

King said he encourages residents concerned about the impact of the cuts to come to ELPL and talk to staff. 

“Come in and talk to us,” he said. “Get information on things you can do to make your opinion heard.”