Letters

Sag Harbor is justifiably proud of its beautiful library. It was gifted to the village in 1910 by M. Olivia Slocum Sage, a wealthy philanthropist who believed that free access to books was critical to building character, health and prosperity in the working classes, and progress in society as a whole.

In 1996, the Institute of Museum and Library Services was created at the federal level to recognize and support the work of local public libraries across America. Increasingly, the IMLS has focused on encouraging access to information and inspiration through digital distribution — the modern equivalent of Mrs. Sage’s mission.

In light of this history, as trustees of the John Jermain Memorial Library, we are saddened by the proposed elimination of the IMLS, and the immediate executive order curtailing its programs.

We are appealing to our elected officials in support of the institute, and our executive director, Kelly Harris, is coordinating with our neighbor libraries, with the Suffolk Cooperative Library System and the New York Library Association, and with the media.

By working together with other Long Island libraries, and with the support of the IMLS, we have been able to maximize the services we provide to the public. Think: inter-library loans, or sharing the cost of licensing and distributing digital materials such as ebooks.

In 2025 — as in 1910 — it’s all about access. We hope that federal encouragement and support of such programs can be reinstated, and that the IMLS itself will be allowed to grow to meet the needs of tomorrow’s readers.

There will always be conflicting demands on federal dollars. But when it comes to budgeting, I would ask our officials to remember the words of Benjamin Franklin, himself a founder of libraries a century before Mrs. Sage, who observed: “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”

Elliott Sroka

President

John Jermain Memorial Library

Sag Harbor