Larry Klein
Mayor
Linda Sell
Vice Mayor
Alysa Cisneros
Councilmember
Richard Mehlinger
Councilmember
Murali Srinivasan
Councilmember
Charlsie Chang
Councilmember
Eileen Le
Councilmember
May 7, 2025
T
he Honorable Alex Padilla
United States Senate
331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
T
he Honorable Adam Schiff
United States Senate
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
T
he Honorable Ro Khanna
United States House of Representatives
306 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
R
E: Executive Order 14238: Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy: Elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) – OPPOSE
D
ear Senator Padilla, Senator Schiff, and Representative Khanna:
O
n behalf of the City of Sunnyvale, we strongly urge your opposition of Executive Order 14238: Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy.
E
xecutive Order 14238 calls for elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the only federal agency dedicated to supporting the nation’s libraries and museums. As a result of this order, the California State Library received written notice on April 3, 2025, that federal Fiscal Year 2024-25 grants under the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) had been terminated. Without restoration of IMLS, numerous local grant programs will be eliminated, such as the Early Learning Grant, which has made a significant impact at the Sunnyvale Library.
T
he Sunnyvale Library provides vital services to 350,000 library visitors annually, who depend on free access to technology, educational resources, and job search support.
Among them last year, 36,000 children and families visited the Early Learning Hub Attachment 4
The Honorable Alex Padilla, U.S. Senate
The Honorable Adam Schiff, U.S. Senate
The Honorable Ro Khanna, U.S. House of Representatives
May 7, 2025
(ELH), a new Library space dedicated to 0 to 5-year-olds. The ELH provides hands-on experiences designed to meet brain development needs through the various stages of early growth, and fosters pre-literacy, establishing the foundations for educational success throughout the lifetime of the child. An LSTA Early Learning Grant of $88,000 provided the startup funding for the renovation, materials and implementation of this new learning space. Grant funds also helped pay for over 300 early development classes and workshops, serving over 21,000 children and families. This is just one example of how the IMLS has benefited and continues to benefit the Sunnyvale community, but in recent years grant funding from the IMLS that passed through the California State Library has also supported STEM education, workforce development, environmental sustainability, and cultural heritage preservation projects.
Current City of Sunnyvale policy places a high priority on providing educational support for library users of all ages as well as the use of technology to optimize the development and delivery of library services (Source: Sunnyvale Library Sub-Element Policy 6.2A.4 and Goal 6.2E). In addition, the City also has a Climate Action Plan that grant funds have supported. We believe the IMLS and supported LSTA grant programs accomplish both goals and help California’s children and library users of all ages improve their educational outcomes, changing lives for the better.
For these reasons, we would appreciate your support of restoring funding for the IMLS.
Thank you for your consideration of our position and your continued support of the City of Sunnyvale. Please do not hesitate to contact me or Michelle Perera, Director of Library and Recreation Services, [email protected] or 408-730-7315, if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Larry Klein
Mayor
cc: City Council
Tim Kirby, City Manager
Sarah Johnson-Rios, Assistant City Manager
Michelle Perera, Director of Library and Recreation Services Attachment 4