Tell Congress to #FundLibraries

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Thanks to your advocacy, Congress funded libraries in FY (fiscal year) 2026! Learn more about the outcome of 2025's budget cycle from ALA's Lisa Varga.

Now it's time to fund libraries this year, for fiscal year '27: The U.S. House of Representatives has kicked off their “Dear Appropriator” letter process about a month and a half earlier than they did in 2025. We need advocates like you to pitch in: It’s critical that lawmakers who may be on the fence or even against federal library funding hear that their constituents support these programs.

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What is the federal budget process and how does it Fund Libraries?

Each year, Congress must pass 12 spending bills for the entire government, establishing funding levels for hundreds of programs, including the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), administrated through the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) program in the Department of Education.

Congressmembers in both the House and the Senate draft “Dear Appropriator” letters to members of each chamber’s Appropriations Committees, urging those leaders to appropriate the funding for certain programs, like library services. Lawmakers are encouraged to sign onto as many different “Dear Appropriator” letters that they want. Although the Senate letters have yet to be released, the House has set a deadline for March 20th to finalize all signatures, which gives our library champions a very small window to gain supporters.

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) are leading the two House letters that cover critical library funding in FY27. One letter asks for robust funding (authorized at $232 million) for LSTA, and the second letter asks for at least $50 million for IAL. LSTA supports library programs in local communities nationwide, such as services for veterans and older adults, jobseeker resources, workforce development programs, internet access, early childhood programs, and much more. IAL gives high-needs school libraries resources to help ease the child literacy crisis nationwide, which has continued to get worse since the pandemic. Both programs use a minuscule percentage of the federal budget to have a huge impact on their communities.

The more support we can demonstrate for these “Dear Appropriator” letters, the more likely library funding will be to survive attempted budget cuts. We expect this White House to continue to do everything possible to slash funding for anything outside its preferred priorities, and they’ve made it very clear they do not include library services.

Updated 3/3/2026:

If you’re wondering how this year’s budget process will work with the remaining twelfth appropriations bill still at a stalemate in Congress, at the time of this writing: Since the Office of Management and Budget was funded for FY26, Congress is in session and able to work on the budget process as it normally does this time of year. They may simply not be able to contact nonessential staff who work at any agencies whose funds are locked within that twelfth bill.

Learn more about the campaign to fund libraries and spread the word with our tools and resources below.

Congressional "Dear Appropriator" Signature History

Each year, ALA's Public Policy and Advocacy Office works with congressional staff to produce and circulate "Dear Appropriator" letters in Congress, addressed to members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, requesting funding amounts for federal programs that support libraries. 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. The Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) funding supports school libraries through the Department of Education.

Did your Senators sign on to support library funding in FY2026 or in previous fiscal years?

Did your House Representative sign on to support library funding in FY2026 or in previous fiscal years?

Appropriations Fact Sheets & Resources

Download a handy one-pager of your state's IMLS funding history and library facts. Need more specific examples? Check out the full IMLS grant database!

Curious about the specifics of what federal funds have paid for over the past decade? Check out this detailed chart for all the services that federal funds have provided across the country!

Download our Appropriations pathway for advocates to learn more about how the Appropriations process works.

Invite members of Congress to visit your library. Check out these tips for organizing a virtual or in-person visit, and download this one-page introduction to Federal funding to share with them on the visit.

Share the Campaign - Share Your Story!

Spread the word about #FundLibraries on social media and share the impact of IMLS funding in your library or state. Remember to tag your posts with #FundLibraries.

Download all of our Fund Libraries graphics here.
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Fund Libraries - Tell Congress to invest in libraries

Past "Dear Appropriator" Letters

FY26 Senate Letter on LSTA - May 2025
FY26 Senate Letter on IAL - May 2025
FY26 House Letter on LSTA - April 2025
FY26 House Letter on IAL - April 2025

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