[Libs-Or] Impact of Executive Order on the State Library

[CORNELISEN Wendy * SLO]

On Friday, March 14, the President issued the an Executive Order for "Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy<https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/continuing-the-reduction-of-the-federal-bureaucracy/>" that includes the agency that provides Library Services Technology Act (LSTA) funding for the State Library, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

The order calls on seven agencies to develop and submit plans within seven days to the Office of Management and Budget on reducing their function and personnel to the "minimum presence and function required by law". Please note that the 7 days starts once the executive order is in the Federal Register, which has not happened as of this email.

This Executive Order puts in motion events that leave us all with many more questions - none of which have immediate answers.

Here's what we do know:


  *   LSTA is a statutorily required program of IMLS.
  *   The $2.5M annual block-grant to the State Library of Oregon is part of the national Grants to States program <https://www.imls.gov/find-funding/funding-opportunities/grants-to-states-overview> so you might see that name too.
  *   This funding represents roughly 25% of the State Library's overall budget, including a number of services used by libraries across Oregon.


     *   Two-thirds of LS staff<https://www.oregon.gov/library/libraries/Pages/Contact.aspx>, including consultants who advise on public libraries, children's and teen services, early literacy, digital equity, continuing education, community outreach, reference services, school libraries, intellectual freedom, digitization, and public library data.
     *   The Statewide Database Licensing Program<https://libguides.osl.state.or.us/SDLP_FAQ/>, which includes statewide access to the Gale suite of electronic resources as well as subsidies to academic libraries to purchase more appropriate content for their needs.
     *   Statewide access to iREAD Summer Reading Programs<https://www.ireadprogram.org/> for all public libraries.
     *   Northwest Digital Heritage<https://www.northwestdigitalheritage.org/>, which aggregates digital collections from libraries, museums, and other institutions around the Pacific Northwest and makes them searchable in one place.
     *   Various grant programs including annual competitive grants<https://libguides.osl.state.or.us/lstagrants/competitive>, teen internship grants<https://libguides.osl.state.or.us/lstagrants/teeninterns>, and other opportunities<https://libguides.osl.state.or.us/lstagrants/awards>.
        *   Please note that Ready to Read grants are not federally funded. Those grants are funded through from the State's General Fund.
     *   Statewide and regional projects such as the Sage Library System<https://www.sagelib.org/> courier, the Oregon Digital Library Consortium/Library2Go<https://library2go.overdrive.com/>, and digitization of Chemawa Indian School materials and Tribal newspapers.
     *   A wide variety of programs operated by the Oregon Library Association including Oregon Battle of the Books<https://www.oregonbattleofthebooks.org/>, Libros for Oregon<https://www.librosfororegon.org/>, OSLIS<https://oslis.org/>, Overdue: Weeding Out Oppression in <https://www.olaweb.org/ola-edi-antiracism-committee---Podcast>  Libraries podcast, and professional development scholarships<https://www.olaweb.org/ola-edi-antiracism-scholarships>.
     *   Answerland<https://answerland.org/>, the state's 24/7 online library chat reference service.
     *   A variety of continuing education opportunities<https://libguides.osl.state.or.us/conted> for Oregon library staff and volunteers including the Oregon Library Staff Academy<http://my.nicheacademy.com/oregonstaff> on Niche Academy, library board resources<https://libguides.osl.state.or.us/publibboard/training> such as the newly released board handbook<https://libguides.osl.state.or.us/publibboard/handbook>, and special training such as the Libraries Leading with Equity<https://libguides.osl.state.or.us/conted/leadingwithequity>.

The State Library has developed materials that help tell the story of the impacts of LSTA funding in Oregon, including:

  *   State and Congressional District handouts showcasing LSTA funding under the Budget and Reports section: https://www.oregon.gov/library/Pages/Library-News.aspx
  *   We've wrapped on the State Library's first video production on LSTA spending, with a focus on for library access via the Woodburn Public Library bookmobile: https://youtu.be/TIp7QD39Vrc


The Executive Order raises many questions about which programs are statutory, and which are discretionary. We'll share more information as it becomes available.

Thanks,

Wendy

Wendy Cornelisen (she, her, hers)
State Librarian
State Library of Oregon
wendy.cornelisen at slo.oregon.gov<mailto:wendy.cornelisen at slo.oregon.gov>
Office: 503-378-4367| Mobile 971-375-3992
www.oregon.gov/library<http://www.oregon.gov/library>
[Title: State Library of Oregon]

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