ALA warns IMLS acting director not to cut legally required programs

ALA sent a letter March 20 to Keith E. Sonderling, the new acting director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), warning him not to cut library programs required by federal law. The letter was sent in response to President Trump’s March 14 executive order, “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy,” which calls for IMLS’s elimination. Outlining the Congressional mandate of the Museum and Library Services Act (MLSA) of 2018, which was signed by President Trump, ALA urged Sonderling to follow provisions of the MLSA and avoid violating federal law. Additionally, the National Museum and Library Services Board sent Sonderling a letter outlining IMLS’s statutory obligations.

ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Office, Mar. 20; Publishers Weekly, Mar. 24

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