Take Action for Libraries Day is held annually on Thursday of National Library Week- April 10th in 2025. This year, as library funding is under attack, the American Library Association encourages every library advocate and frequent user of libraries to Show Up for Our Libraries by telling Congress to protect federal support for libraries. The Institute of Museum and Library Services, in particular, provides library grants, museum grants, policy development, and research. The IMLS also plays a tremendous role in providing broadband access for libraries, which enables library users to have access to higher-quality Internet. The New York State Library receives IMLS funding that supports the Talking Book and Braille Library as well as other services and programs that benefit New Yorkers.
Ways the ALA recommends to Show Up for Libraries and take action to protect all of the resources that libraries have to offer:
- Call Your Congress Members. If you live in the Binghamton area, your Representative is Josh Riley and your Senators are Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer. The 5 Calls app and website provides a succinct script you can use here. Followers not from the Binghamton area can look up their members of Congress on Congress.gov. Click here to find your Members in the U.S. Congress
- Email Your Congress Members. The ALA provides a form you can use to do so on One Click Politics here.
- Help spread the word on social media. The ALA has a Show Up for Our Libraries Communication Toolkit that you can use for graphics, captions, and hashtags.
You can find more information, news articles, and resources for Take Action for Libraries Day on these webpages:
- The Cost of Losing IMLS Funding | School Library Journal “From the loss of Hoopla, databases, and Wi-Fi hotspots to the closing of rural branches, these stories document the devastating effect of the Trump administration’s policy decisions on public and school libraries across the country.”
- Latest Executive Orders Seeks to Eliminate the IMLS | School Library Journal “Without this core federal funding for state libraries, we risk losing critical library programs and services in every state.”
- Libraries under siege | USA Today "Librarians, states say cuts will decimate local libraries."
- NYLA petition to increase state funding for libraries
- NYLA petition to defend IMLS
- NYLA Library Advocate Sign-Up
- EveryLibrary Petition: Stop Trump's E.O. Attacking Federal Funding for Libraries - EveryLibrary Action
- EveryLibrary Resources: Take Action to Save Federal Funding and IMLS
- Tell New York City Leaders: Invest in Public Libraries | The New York Public Library (NYPL currently permits people that live or work anywhere in New York State to get a NYPL card, provided they provide proof of identity. Their application form can be found here.)