As the Library Director of the Lake Andes Public Library, I am writing a letter asking for the help of people in our community and all communities across SD. The libraries and museums across America need your support.

SD Legislature in the 2025 session were asked by Governor Noem to cut the budget to the SD State Library. The severe cuts she sawt were intended to deem the State Library ineligible for the matching funds from the Institute of Museums and Library Science (IMLS) at the federal level. Thank you to the SD state legislature for there work to listen to librarians across the state and only impose some cuts to the State Library, not the drastic cuts asked for by Governor Noem.

At this time, we have won the battle, but could presumably lose the war. The IMLS is on the DOGE chopping block. Most of the employees (70) at the national level have been furloughed and the funding to many states across America have been eliminated. At this writing South Dakota has not yet been notified, but we are waiting in anticipation for an announcement.

What does the lose of a small, rural library mean for their communities, our Lake Andes community? It can mean the loss of internet at a discounted rate for libraries, it means that programs like Libby for free electronic check out of e-books and audio books may go away, it means summer programming and reading for children may not have the resources or the ability to provide the best experience for our children. Lake Andes Public Library uses funds from IMLS to provide programming to adults in areas of Digital Literacy, providing services to disabled patrons, a medical collection of reading materials, and general help with cell phones and personal computers.

April 6- 13th, 2025 is National Library Week across America. This quote from Dwight D. Eisenhower states the case for libraries; 'The libraries of America are and must ever remain the home of free and inquiring minds. To them, our citizens - of all ages and races, of all creeds and persuasions - must be able to turn with clear confidence that there they can freely seek the whole truth, unvarnished by fashion and uncompromised by expediency.' - Dwight D. Eisenhower At the beginning of this letter I asked for the people of our community for help. Please contact John Thune, Mike Rounds and Dusty Johnson. Ask them to come to the rescue of the IMLS and our local public libraries.

Sincerely, Mary Jo Parker