Jamie Loftus

So all sorts of things, those things just wouldn't be there because there's probably not, especially in red states, other funds that are going to come to cover that.

It's so small, right?

It's so small, right?

It's so small, right?

You could like take the, I don't know, the gold toilets away from the Navy and cover it in a day, right? Like it's so small. Yeah, yeah. And yet it has this enormous... outsized impact, you know, the statistics say that every dollar spent on IMLS returns $2 to the economy. So it's actually, if you're going to measure it that way, highly beneficial, especially to these more marginalized areas.

You could like take the, I don't know, the gold toilets away from the Navy and cover it in a day, right? Like it's so small. Yeah, yeah. And yet it has this enormous... outsized impact, you know, the statistics say that every dollar spent on IMLS returns $2 to the economy. So it's actually, if you're going to measure it that way, highly beneficial, especially to these more marginalized areas.

You could like take the, I don't know, the gold toilets away from the Navy and cover it in a day, right? Like it's so small. Yeah, yeah. And yet it has this enormous... outsized impact, you know, the statistics say that every dollar spent on IMLS returns $2 to the economy. So it's actually, if you're going to measure it that way, highly beneficial, especially to these more marginalized areas.

Yeah. So for better or for worse, public libraries in the United States have become the social safety net of last resort because they already exist almost everywhere. And it's so hard to get you know, not right now, but even in the past couple decades, other social programs started in many parts of the U.S. that things kind of just get lumped into the library.

Yeah. So for better or for worse, public libraries in the United States have become the social safety net of last resort because they already exist almost everywhere. And it's so hard to get you know, not right now, but even in the past couple decades, other social programs started in many parts of the U.S. that things kind of just get lumped into the library.

Yeah. So for better or for worse, public libraries in the United States have become the social safety net of last resort because they already exist almost everywhere. And it's so hard to get you know, not right now, but even in the past couple decades, other social programs started in many parts of the U.S. that things kind of just get lumped into the library.

So now you get your tax forms there, maybe they have a social worker on staff, it's the place that homeless folks can sit when it's snowing. Yeah. So that kind of is like a little bit of side from what we're talking about right here, but I really do want to point out that public libraries have become the social safety net in many, many places.

So now you get your tax forms there, maybe they have a social worker on staff, it's the place that homeless folks can sit when it's snowing. Yeah. So that kind of is like a little bit of side from what we're talking about right here, but I really do want to point out that public libraries have become the social safety net in many, many places.

So now you get your tax forms there, maybe they have a social worker on staff, it's the place that homeless folks can sit when it's snowing. Yeah. So that kind of is like a little bit of side from what we're talking about right here, but I really do want to point out that public libraries have become the social safety net in many, many places.

So that aside, offerings of, aside from books and other media, including e-books, audio books, movies in lots of formats, magazines, newspapers, there are tons of classes about all sorts of things, especially technology classes. It's a place that a lot of people, it's their only reliable internet access. So in 2025, you can't do mostly anything without the internet.

So that aside, offerings of, aside from books and other media, including e-books, audio books, movies in lots of formats, magazines, newspapers, there are tons of classes about all sorts of things, especially technology classes. It's a place that a lot of people, it's their only reliable internet access. So in 2025, you can't do mostly anything without the internet.

So that aside, offerings of, aside from books and other media, including e-books, audio books, movies in lots of formats, magazines, newspapers, there are tons of classes about all sorts of things, especially technology classes. It's a place that a lot of people, it's their only reliable internet access. So in 2025, you can't do mostly anything without the internet.

You can't get a job without the internet. You can't maybe pay your bills without the internet. So that's a reliable place that people who don't have internet for various reasons, maybe they live so far out in the country that just doesn't go there unless you have satellite, right? Even now. Or maybe you can't afford it or whatever.

You can't get a job without the internet. You can't maybe pay your bills without the internet. So that's a reliable place that people who don't have internet for various reasons, maybe they live so far out in the country that just doesn't go there unless you have satellite, right? Even now. Or maybe you can't afford it or whatever.

You can't get a job without the internet. You can't maybe pay your bills without the internet. So that's a reliable place that people who don't have internet for various reasons, maybe they live so far out in the country that just doesn't go there unless you have satellite, right? Even now. Or maybe you can't afford it or whatever.

Or there's one computer in your house and there's six kids and someone has to do their homework, so what's everyone else going to do? So then the computers themselves... And then also, the other thing that IMLS also does is those grants will sometimes purchase research databases.