LSTA Funding Facts & Figures 2018

Office of Library and Information Services Program Funding

OLIS programs and services are funded with a mix of state and federal funds. Federal funds are received under the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) through the Grants to States program, administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The following chart outlines spending on OLIS programs as reported to IMLS in the State Program Report for federal fiscal year 2018 (October 1, 2017 - September 30, 2018). The report year differs from the State of Rhode Island's fiscal year; as such these numbers represent a different period than the period for which the State provides funding and do not align with the state budget.

The table below shows the percentages of state and federal funding for OLIS programs that are partially funded with federal funds in federal fiscal year 2018. The "LSTA %" column shows the percentage of LSTA funds out of the total RI LSTA grand expended on the program. Costs for administering LSTA are less than 4% of the total LSTA grant; other administrative costs paid for with state funds include state aid to libraries, construction reimbursement, delivery, Talking Books Plus, and OLIS general administration.

  State Federal LSTA % Total Cost
Resource Sharing  $684,910 75.1%  $226,874 24.9% 21.2%  $911,784
Talking Books Library  $142,860 30.7%  $322,906 69.3% 30.2%  $465,766
Public Library Development*  $180,695 49.1%  $187,092 50.9% 17.5%  $367,787
Administration  $203,717 83.6%  $40,039 16.4% 3.7%  $243,756
Youth Services  $47,600 22.9%  $160,213 77.1% 15.0%  $207,813
AskRI**  $6,690 4.8%  $133,114 95.2% 12.4%  $139,804
Total  $1,266,472 54.2% $1,070,238 45.8% 100.0%  $2,336,710

*Public Library Development includes continuing education, lifelong learning, research & data services, reference services and cultrual heritage support.

**AskRI is additionally funded with an additional $701,052 for databases and services provided by the Providence Public Library as the Statewide Reference Resource Center. These funds are not included in the OLIS budget, but are administered by OLIS.

Funding Data

To learn more about the impact of possible funding reduction, see LSTA Funding Frequently Asked Questions.

LSTA Funding in Rhode Island - Additional Resources