On May 1, the American Library Association (ALA) announced that the US District Court for the District of Columbia temporarily blocked the Trump administration from dismantling the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), as directed by a March 14 executive order. The temporary restraining order was issued in response to a lawsuit filed by ALA and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the largest union representing library workers.
ALA’s full statement regarding the court’s temporary restraining order reads as follows:
Today, the US District Court for the District of Columbia granted a temporary restraining order to block the Trump administration’s dismantling of IMLS. The decision was issued in response to a lawsuit filed by ALA and AFSCME, represented by Democracy Forward and Gair Gallo Eberhard LLP.
IMLS is the only federal agency dedicated to the nation’s libraries and museums. On March 14, President Trump issued Executive Order 14238, which directed the elimination of the agency. Subsequently, the Trump administration put nearly all agency staffers on administrative leave, began mass termination of the agency’s grants, dismissed all members of the IMLS board, and halted crucial data collection and research. These actions left IMLS unable to fulfill its duties required by federal law and threw libraries across the country into a state of chaos.
ALA President Cindy Hohl said: “The immediate halt to the gutting of IMLS is a win for America’s libraries and the millions of Americans who rely on them. ALA is encouraged that the court recognizes the immediacy of the need for IMLS and library services at risk. The temporary restraining order will stop the dismantling of IMLS while the court considers the merits in this case.”
The temporary restraining order was issued days before the mass layoff of nearly all IMLS employees was set to take effect on May 4.
Hohl noted, “Even with a temporary restraining order in place, Congress also must act to ensure our nation’s libraries can continue to serve their communities, including by funding IMLS for next year.”
Parallel to its efforts to preserve IMLS through litigation, ALA has mounted a campaign to secure funding for the agency in fiscal year (FY) 2026. ALA is currently asking advocates to request their members of Congress demonstrate their commitment to library funding by signing congressional “Dear Appropriator” letters in support of IMLS funding next year. The window for members of Congress to sign on to the FY2026 library funding letters is expected to close in mid-May.
“There is one final wall of defense against destruction of federal funding for libraries: constituents who tell elected leaders to continue providing libraries the federal resources that bring opportunity to millions of Americans,” Hohl said. “Right now is prime time for every American to show up for our libraries by urging their senators and representatives to sign ‘Dear Appropriator’ letters in support of federal library funding.”
Trump’s FY2026 budget proposal, released to congressional leaders on May 2, eliminates IMLS. The president’s budget proposal is not law, but serves as the basis for lawmakers’ budget debates ahead.
