NDIA - Staff cuts at IMLS threaten digital inclusion efforts

by Angela Siefer, Executive Director, National Digital Inclusion Alliance

Since 2020, the digital navigator model has spread like wildfire. Programs with trusted guides who assist community members with ongoing, individualized support for accessing affordable and appropriate connectivity, devices, and digital skills are now in hundreds of communities across the U.S.

Thirty-nine states and territories included digital navigator programs in their state/territory digital equity/opportunity plans, many of whom included libraries as key community partners.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is one of the reasons this model was developed and went to scale so quickly. Just yesterday, staff at the Institute for Museum and Library Services were placed on leave, meaning there are no staff to manage current grants.
In Spring 2020, when everything was shutting down, it quickly became clear that home internet, a device, and digital skills support were essential. NDIA and the Salt Lake City Public Library reached out to IMLS. We wanted to test out the digital navigator model with a library anchor who had a demonstrated history of partnering with local trusted community-based organizations to document what worked and what did not. And, with the support of IMLS, we created a model that was adaptable to support the needs of community members across the country. Did IMLS move as quickly as we wanted them to? Of course not. They did their due diligence as a responsible steward of public funds. 

Connect AZ, one of the leading digital navigator programs in the U.S. relies upon IMLS funding. With no one at IMLS to manage grants, this amazing program that helped people across Arizona with technology challenges is no longer operating. 

In 2020, Queens Public Library received a grant from the CARES Act Grant for Museums and Libraries for the “Immediate Access: Technology Re-entry Program” in partnership with Queens Defenders. This program was the basis for their work in providing parolees with devices, data plans, technology assistance, and job training designed to prevent recidivism. This led to a New York Digital Inclusion Fund Innovation Grant, supporting the growth of a comprehensive digital navigator program supporting the re-entry community as well as older adults, job seekers, and new Americans.

Most public libraries are primarily funded by city and county taxes. Small and rural libraries with limited local funding will feel the loss of their IMLS grants the hardest. Losing millions of dollars in grant funds from IMLS will drastically impact the ability of these anchor institutions to deliver critically needed services for their community members–from getting people online to teaching them the skills they need to support workforce development, education, and telehealth.

Call and email your member of Congress and tell them how libraries are critical to getting affordable and appropriate connectivity, devices, and digital skills to people across the U.S.  Demand that the Executive Order be overturned and that funding to IMLS be protected. You can do this as an individual citizen. You can also support this work by signing EveryLibrary’s Online Petition.