The Idaho Commission for Libraries will continue to receive federal funding for now, State Librarian Stephanie Bailey-White said Tuesday.
Earlier this month, the commission’s board approved using alternative funds to pay staff in anticipation of losing federal funding, as similar federal grants were abruptly terminated.
“The ICfL will still face some funding challenges in the weeks and months ahead but the worst-case scenario, including layoffs for ten staff members, is off the table for the time being,” Bailey-White wrote.
The Institute for Museum and Library Services ended grants midyear that were used to train librarians and fund innovation, USA Today reported.
The institute was created in 1996 and provides funding to libraries, museums and archives in all 50 states.
President Donald Trump targeted the institute and seven other small federal agencies in a March 14 executive order titled “Continuing the Reduction of Federal Bureaucracy.”
More than half of the institute’s budget goes directly to agencies that oversee state libraries, like the Idaho Commission for Libraries. The funds pay for things like databases and interlibrary loan systems.
Because Idaho is still receiving those federal funds, the commission avoided an interruption to the Idaho Talking Book Services, which provides audiobook services to disabled Idahoans. The services are now assured through April 2026.
