By: John Hult
PIERRE, S.D. (South Dakota Searchlight) – The South Dakota State Library has secured the second half of its federal funding, which will allow for the resumption of interlibrary loan deliveries over the summer.
The library relies on the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) for about half of its annual funding.
The money helps pay for things like interlibrary loans, professional development for librarians across South Dakota, summer reading program support and public access to paid educational databases.
Access to that funding was called into question twice over the last six months. First, Former Gov. Kristi Noem released a budget plan that slashed state funding for the library to a level too low to meet the federal match necessary to secure IMLS funding.
State lawmakers returned enough money to the library in their final budget in March to maintain access to the grants, but an executive order to gut IMLS from President Trump threw the South Dakota State Library’s future into question again.
Money for the grants is congressionally appropriated, but advocates worried that IMLS staff cuts caused by the Trump order would make it impossible for the federal agency to process grant applications.
In the face of that uncertainty, the State Library announced a suspension of the courier service that delivers books from library to library through interlibrary loans. Without a courier service, local libraries would’ve needed to mail materials ordered through interlibrary loan.
State Librarian George Seamon got good news in late spring. He told the South Dakota Library Board of a notice from IMLS on the state’s federal grant on April 24.
It was to be the board’s last meeting. Lawmakers dissolved the citizen-led advisory group and cut three positions from the State Library as part of the compromise deal to save it. Seamon told the board during the April meeting that the departing employees had new jobs.
He also said the state had received half its IMLS money, and that securing the other half was contingent on answers to some follow-up questions from IMLS on how the dollars would be spent.
Nancy Van Der Weide, spokeswoman for the state Department of Education, confirmed this week that the remainder of federal funding has now been secured. The state library is an arm of the state Department of Education.
The interlibrary loan courier service will resume June 1, she wrote in an email to South Dakota Searchlight.
The future of funding on the federal side beyond this year is unclear, however. Congress appropriates IMLS funding in periodic increments, most recently in 2018. Congress faces a choice of whether to re-up IMLS funding beyond 2025.
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