Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Releases FY 2021 Annual Performance Report

From IMLS:

The Institute of Museum and Library Services announced today that the agency’s Annual Performance Report (APR) is now available for FY 2021. The report is an in-depth look at how IMLS aligns its strategic priorities with practice.

“In this past fiscal year, IMLS continued its work aiding libraries and museums responding to the pandemic,” said IMLS Director Crosby Kemper. “We distributed an additional $178 million in American Rescue Plan funding with a further $4 million for grantmaking, research, and evaluation from original CARES Act funding. The near doubling of our funding over a little more than a year has been virtually 100 percent obligated, and over 30 percent has been spent by recipients in the less than half a year since the awards were made. This is a tribute to the importance of need and use by our library and museum grantees and the very targeted and efficient work of our dedicated staff.”

The APR reviews key impacts of the agency’s activities for FY 2021. Highlights from the report include:

• IMLS entered into an interagency agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in partnership with the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) and the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), to launch Communities for Immunity, which provides funding to museums and libraries to enhance COVID-19 vaccine confidence in communities across the U.S.
• More than 1,000 participants attended the third National Tribal Broadband Summit, co-hosted by IMLS and the Departments of Interior, Education, Commerce, Agriculture, Transportation, the Federal Communications Commission, and the White House Council for Native American Affairs. This Summit and two Tribal Consultations focused interagency work on providing support for educational and health care programs and to help close the digital divide in Indian Country.
• The Grants to States program has been focused on libraries and literacy, digital inclusion, workforce development, and recovery with particular emphasis on digital skills, devices, hotspots, Wi-Fi and mobile outreach, and the provision of services to those most challenged and affected by both the pandemic and continued economic, educational, and cultural disparities.
• The Museums for All program reached a milestone with over 700 museum members providing free or discounted access to families and children who are economically challenged.

“Throughout the pandemic, IMLS has also been working to put a strong equity filter on all our relevant grantmaking to make sure our dollars, your dollars, go where most needed,” said Kemper. “We reestablished our National Medals Program, and one need only look at the 2021 recipients to see that our libraries and museums remain not only culturally vibrant but also central to the civic and community life of our nation.”

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