Here's the letter body:
The latest presidential executive order targets The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), which is an independent federal agency that supports libraries and museums in all 50 states and U.S. territories through grantmaking, research and policy development. IMLS administers both federal grants to states, which determine how funds are spent, and discretionary grants to individual library entities.
I love libraries and use them regularly, and I'm not the only one; Americans have loved and relied on public, school and academic libraries for generations. By eliminating the only federal agency dedicated to funding library services, the Trump administration’s executive order is cutting off at the knees the most beloved and trusted of American institutions and the staff and services they offer:
Early literacy development and grade-level reading programs
Summer reading programs for kids
High-speed internet access
Employment assistance for job seekers
Braille and talking books for people with visual impairments
Homework and research resources for students and faculty
Veterans’ telehealth spaces equipped with technology and staff support
STEM programs, simulation equipment and training for workforce development
Small business support for budding entrepreneurs
To dismiss some 75 committed workers and mission of an agency that advances opportunity and learning is to dismiss the aspirations and everyday needs of millions of Americans. And those who will feel that loss most keenly live in rural communities.
As seedbeds of literacy and innovation, our nation’s 125,000 public, school, academic and special libraries deserve more, not less support. Libraries translate 0.003% of the federal budget into programs and services used by more than 1.2 billion people every year.
I implore you to ask President Trump to reconsider this short-sighted decision. Please, visit the libraries that serve your constituents and urge the White House to spare the modest federal funding for America’s libraries.
No one wants this!
