To the editor:

I am writing on behalf of the New Ulm Public Library Board to call attention to the critical importance of including library funding in next year’s federal budget for FY26.

The Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funding supports libraries of all types through the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and its grant programs, including direct-to-state grants. We urge our legislators to reinstate funding for IMLS, including LSTA funding, and to support the reauthorization of the Museum and Library Services Act of 2018.

Among other important services, LSTA grants to Minnesota help support Minitex’s interlibrary loan operations, including delivery and courier services that directly benefit patrons of Brown County’s libraries. In 2024 alone, New Ulm Public Library patrons received 18,536 items through interlibrary loan, and the library loaned 18,928 items to other Minnesota libraries. If interlibrary loan services are reduced or discontinued, Brown County residents could lose access to over 10 million unique items, including books, journal articles, films, music, audiobooks, and more.

The truth is that library funding is a meager 0.003% of the federal budget, and even at that low funding level, statewide library programs already do a huge amount of work to support rural Minnesota communities. We can’t afford to have them trimmed any further and leave our communities behind.

Let your legislators know that our libraries must be saved from unwarranted budget slashing in this year’s budget. Ask them to support full funding for LSTA, through IMLS, in the FY26 budget process!

Ruth Ann Webster

New Ulm

— Ruth Ann Webster is New Ulm Public Library Board President