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San Antonio's former public library director weighed in on proposed White House cuts to the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences (IMLS), the federal agency that funds library services across the nation.
Ramiro S. Salazar managed San Antonio's public libraries for two decades and now sits on the board of the institute that could be dismantled by an executive order by President Trump.
Salazar said he did not want to speak on behalf of the entire board. But he did sign a letter from some board members to the new acting Trump appointee heading the institute that opposes cuts to its programs.
"Most, if not all of their programs, are required by or mandated by Congress," he said. "They're statutory and should be executed as stated."
No actual cuts have taken place yet. In a statement to TPR, officials with the local public library system did not expect a major impact but they were monitoring developments.
Salazar said the proposed cuts would do more harm to small town libraries.
The institute helps provide library services like technology for job seekers, for people with disabilities, and library deliveries for senior summer reading programs.
The IMLS said the White House announcement ordered a total of seven agencies, including the institute, be eliminated to the "maximum extent of the law, and the agencies are ordered to reduce their services and personnel to the minimum amount required to perform the functions required by the law."
The IMLS called on all library supporters to ask their senators or representatives to find a way to overturn the executive order.
