The recent executive order that mandates the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to be eliminated to the maximum extent of the law WILL have consequences for local library services.

Thankfully, the Dickinson County Library is largely supported by local taxpayers and does not receive any direct funding from IMLS. However, some popular and vital services we provide our patrons are funded with these federal dollars; namely, the Michigan Electronic Library catalog (MeLCat) and eResources.

Due to budget constraints and physical space limitations, no library can hold every single book or DVD that patrons would want. We overcome this shortfall by using an interlibrary loan system that allows us to borrow items from libraries across the Upper Peninsula, the state of Michigan, and the country, and place them in the hands of local library card holders at absolutely no cost to them.

MeLCat provides the online card catalog, circulation system, and courier services that facilitate the transfer of items between hundreds of public, school, and university libraries across the state of Michigan. Last year, the Dickinson County Library borrowed and lent more than 3,500 items through the MeLCat system, so clearly, it’s a popular program. I would hate to see this service end, especially since we are in a rural area away from university libraries or even a bookstore. In many cases, MeLCat is the only way to get a rare book.

I’ve seen so many local residents benefit from the MeLCat program: homeschool families in need of instruction materials, students looking for physical book references for research papers, people who want to take a deep dive into niche interests, film aficionados in search of cult movies or classic television shows, and more. If you’ve ever checked out an item from the library and it didn’t have a Dickinson County Library barcode on it, there’s a good chance that item came to you courtesy of MeLCat and you never even knew.

In addition, the mel.org website has a wealth of eResources available to Michigan residents. These include eBooks, test prep materials, auto repair information and many more.

As far as we know, MeLCat services are funded through September. If IMLS funding isn’t restored by then, we hope we can continue some type of interlibrary loan service with other Upper Peninsula libraries. However, this would further strain our budget and could lead to cuts in other areas. There are a lot of unknowns at this point.

Please support this vital program by contacting your federal legislators and urging them to fight to restore IMLS funding. If you have any questions about MeLCat and how you can start using it, please contact any Dickinson County Library branch or go to mel.org.