This week marks 100 days since President Trump’s January 20 inauguration. It has also been approximately 45 days since Trump signed the March 14 executive order that called for stripping the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) down to its “non-statutory and component functions.”
In response, the American Library Association (ALA), along with the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration. On April 30, a federal court hearing will rule on ALA’s motion for a preliminary injunction to stop the further dismantling of IMLS.
Meanwhile, censorship attempts persist, IMLS staffers have been placed on leave, previously granted IMLS funding has been canceled, and library staffers continue to make difficult decisions about how to best maintain services for their communities.
Following is American Libraries’ update on the many challenges libraries and librarians continue to fight under the Trump administration. For information on actions against libraries by the Trump administration earlier this year, see our March 19 article, “Tracking the Trump Administration’s Attacks on Libraries.”
IMLS staff dismissed
On March 31, all but 12 of IMLS’s approximately 75 staffers were informed via email that they had been placed on paid administrative leave for up to 90 days and that a reduction in force would take place May 4.
According to anonymous reports to Publishers Weekly by three furloughed employees, only two staffers working on library-related services remain at the agency. As of April 16, just one payment of anticipated funds from IMLS, to Arizona State Library, Archives, and Public Records, had been confirmed.
Furloughed staffers face continued job uncertainty. They report that they have not had access to the full retention register, which reveals federal workers’ standing in a reduction of force based on several employment factors.
As Publishers Weekly writes, “Even employees offered the opportunity to keep their jobs might be justifiably worried about accepting those offers.” And, the source says, “‘…anyone’s refusal ‘to return [to the office] and perform the duties assigned to them by acting director Sonderling would be forced to quit, which means that they forfeit rights to severance pay.’”
NPR, Mar. 31; Publishers Weekly, Apr. 16; Courtlistener, Apr. 14
Previously awarded grants canceled
US Deputy Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling was appointed by Trump and sworn in as acting head of IMLS on March 20. In a statement, Sonderling vowed to “revitalize IMLS and restore focus on patriotism.”
Starting April 2, grant recipients, including the states of California, Connecticut, and Washington, were informed that their federal IMLS grants had been canceled effective April 1. A form letter sent to other grant recipients notified them that their funding had been canceled because their projects were found to no longer serve “the interests of the United States.” The Vermont Historical Society published the termination letter it received after its grant was canceled. On April 3, the caption on an Instagram post by IMLS that read “The era of using your taxpayer dollars to fund DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion] grants is OVER” received a chorus of opposition in the comments.
As of April 20, the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies has documented 90 IMLS grants that have been reported canceled. The canceled grants cover a range of topics related to regular library practice, DEI topics, and at least 18 projects at tribal libraries.
A lawsuit filed by attorneys general in 21 states against the Trump administration focuses on restoring IMLS’s funding. On April 7, ALA and AFSCME filed a lawsuit that aims to stop the dismantling of IMLS. As noted above, on April 30, a federal judge will decide on the preliminary injunction.
IMLS, Mar. 20; School Library Journal, Apr.4; USA Today, Apr.11; Vermont Historical Society, Apr. 10; Instagram, Apr.3; Washington State Attorneys General Office, Apr.4; ALA, Apr.7
Effects of funding cuts
State libraries rely on IMLS to fund services like interlibrary loan and digital loan platforms such as Libby and Hoopla. ALA President Cindy Hohl said in a March 31 statement, “Even now, state libraries are making hard choices about what their communities may have to do without.”
Each state relies on IMLS for millions of dollars in funding each year. While most states had already received a portion of their funds before the early April staffing cuts, libraries have had to quickly plan for a post–federal funding reality. Though the full effects are not yet evident, notable changes to library services have occurred across the country.
In California, the state library has furloughed its temporary staff and implemented a hiring freeze. The Maine State Library was forced to close for two weeks to reorganize its operations after losing funding for 13 employee salaries. In Mississippi, public libraries have been forced to reduce individual borrowing of digital materials or suspend the service indefinitely. And in South Dakota, the state library is now only available by appointment, and interlibrary loan has been cut entirely.
ALA, Mar 31; Sacramento Bee, Apr.16; Maine State Library, Apr. 10; Clarion Ledger, Apr. 7; South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Apr.17; South Dakota Searchlight, Apr. 15
Censorship in federal and state libraries
Meanwhile, the censorship attempts in school libraries run by the US military that began earlier this year have spread to the university level.
On April 4, the US Navy published a list of almost 400 books removed on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s orders from the Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. The selection criteria aimed to extend compliance with the January 24 Trump administration executive order, “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K–12 Schooling,” which seeks to remove materials related to DEI, race, and gender from public schools.
On April 9, the assistant secretary of the Army sent a memo ordering the removal of DEI materials from Army libraries across the country, including that at the US Military Academy at West Point. A similar memo sent to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, requested that a preliminary list of titles to be removed be provided by April 30, with a final list by the end of May. Both the Army and Air Force have said that books are being marked only for potential removal and will not imminently disappear from shelves.
At the state level, the Mississippi Library Commission (MLC) ordered the removal of research collections on “race relations” and “gender studies” from its statewide MAGNOLIA research database in late March. MLC Executive Director Hulen Bivins said that among the state laws necessitating the deletion is a 2023 law focused on regulating minors’ exposure to “obscene materials.” More recently, the Mississippi Legislature has approved the banning of DEI-related curriculum in Mississippi schools and universities.
American Libraries, March 19; United States Navy, Apr. 4; The New York Times, Mar. 28; White House, Jan. 24; NPR, Apr. 15; The Guardian, Apr. 16; Mississippi Today, Apr. 8; The Guardian, Apr. 11
Preparing for ICE actions
Following Trump’s orders allowing law enforcement greater power to arrest immigrants in the United States, libraries have been grappling with how to respond to potential visits from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Trump’s policies undo protections created under President Biden’s administration that restricted ICE and Customs and Border Protection enforcement actions in or near sensitive locations—defined as “places where children gather, disaster or emergency relief sites, and social services establishments.”
In January, ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom published guidance for libraries that encounter immigration authorities. In addition, libraries such as the Niles-Maine Library in Illinois, have developed policies that will allow ICE agents into public areas of the library but prevent them from entering private spaces, like conference rooms, without a warrant.
Such policies differ by state. In Maryland, the state legislature has proposed a bill that would prevent law enforcement from entering certain parts of public spaces, including libraries. Meanwhile, in Arizona, a bill passed by the legislature but recently vetoed by the governor, would have required public workers, including librarians, to comply with ICE demands and prevented public institutions from enacting policies to restrict law enforcement access to any area within public spaces.
NPR, Jan. 21; ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, Jan. 24; Journal & Topics, Feb.28; Washington Examiner, Apr.8; The Copper Courier, Apr. 9; AZ Mirror, Apr. 22
