OPINION: Library cuts threaten crucial programs

Libraries in New Mexico have never been quiet. They are full of questions, conversations and the everyday noise of people trying to get what they need; a journal article, a job, internet access, a tax form or homework help. Libraries are busy, working places. They are also community centers, where people gather, connect and find belonging. Libraries and the programs that matter to so many New Mexicans are under threat because a federal agency called the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is being eliminated by the federal government.

I was born and raised in Albuquerque and I have worked as a librarian in New Mexico for 25 years, and I am heartbroken imagining what this loss of funding will mean to students, families, children and our businesses in New Mexico.

In the past five years, IMLS has provided nearly $17 million in funding to New Mexico for libraries and museums. These funds are not just helpful, they are foundational. The loss of this funding will impact libraries in New Mexico’s cities, but rural areas will be hit especially hard.

More than half of New Mexico’s IMLS funding supports rural services like bookmobiles and the Books by Mail program managed by the New Mexico State Library. These services reach New Mexicans who do not otherwise have access to library materials. In communities without a local library, the bookmobile is the library and a place where the community gathers when it is in town.

Tribal libraries that support entire communities and their schools operate with minimal resources while serving as essential educational and cultural hubs. Without federal support, they risk losing services their communities depend on.

The impact of IMLS goes far beyond rural areas. These federal funds support services that benefit every New Mexican, regardless of where you live. If IMLS and its funding are permanently eliminated these services will be threatened and likely eliminated:

• Summer reading programs that promote early literacy and keep children learning.
• The Library for the Blind and Print Disabled, which served my grandma in her later years, would face devastating cuts. These services bring joy and connection to thousands of New Mexicans who cannot read print or physically hold a book.
• El Portal, our statewide databases, would likely go dark cutting off free access to homework help, academic journals, research tools and business databases for students in our public schools, academic institutions, government workers and business leaders. I work with students who use these resources to build business plans and launch ventures. Without IMLS, those tools disappear.

New Mexico relies on IMLS funding more heavily than many other states. The loss of these dollars would be especially devastating here, where local and state budgets are often stretched thin and unable to fully support the programs and services that people need in our state.

Our congressional delegation has shown strong support for IMLS funding, and I am grateful for their leadership but the fight is not over. Permanently closing IMLS and eliminating federal library funding would come with a steep human cost in our state. Our lawmakers must remain loud, firm and unrelenting.

Libraries and their services are not a luxury. They are essential infrastructure. When we allow public institutions like libraries to erode, we do more than lose services, we begin to unravel the fabric that connects our communities.

Valerie Nye is the library director at Santa Fe Community College.