Booksology All IMLS staff email addresses are disabled today. Those who have questions or concerns about IMLS funding will no longer be able to reach the individuals and individuals they worked for.
Additionally, all processing work on the 2025 funding application has concluded and there is no information regarding the status of awards already awarded that year. The union believes that most grants will simply end.
IMLS accounts for .0046% of the federal budget.
Two weeks ago, President Trump issued an executive order targeting funds allocated to libraries and museums around the country. The Institute of Library Services (IMLS) is a federal agency that distributes Congress-approved funds to state libraries, libraries, museums, and archive grant programs. IMLS is the only federal agency that funds libraries. The executive order states that IML functions should be reduced to “statutory functions,” and that costs should be reduced as much as possible in places that are not statutory.
A week later, the Government Efficiency Bureau (DOGE) entered the IMLS office. A lot of IMLS were ready to see their work disappear, but that didn’t happen at all. Instead, Doge set up the agency’s new acting director, Deputy Secretary of Labor Keith E. Sonderling.
But it wasn’t just a new acting director. IMLS has taken a new direction thanks to executive orders and Doge. Currently, “This administration and lockstep will increase efficiency and promote innovation. We will inspire IMLS, focus on patriotism, ensure that we will maintain our country’s core values in future generations, promote American exceptionalism and cultivate the love of the country.”
The new goal of management using IMLS is to act as a propaganda machine. It is not also the first federal cultural institution to see its mission change from serving the needs and interests of all of America. On March 28th, the administration will issue another executive order. This time, we call for the Smithsonian, the National Museum of African-American History and Culture, and other federal museums to stop the “revisionist movement” through exhibits and installations that are “racist, sexist, oppressive, or flawed in the turn of events.”
Such institutions are now to engage in “firing the imagination of young minds, celebrating the richness of American history and innovation, and instilling pride in the hearts of all Americans.” The executive order specifically points out that time and energy have been devoted to these patriotic efforts to prepare for the Independent National Historical Park for its 250th American Anniversary Event in 2026.
IML refunds and eruptions would not have happened both on the ground and on Congress without strong support for the resources of public libraries and museums across the country.
On March 24, the Museum and Library Worship Board drafted a letter to Sonderling as a new acting director. The letter outlines the inherent functions of the institution, revealing that IML reductions have a direct and long-term impact on public museums and libraries across the country. He emphasized that the executive order alone is not sufficient to change the features or services provided by IMLS.
From the letter:
All such statutory duties may not be halted or delayed under an executive order or other enforcement action. Sections 9133 and 9176 of the Act confirm the obligation to mandate and supply IMLS funds to the grantee. Failure to fulfill these legal obligations or reduce staffing or programme work below the minimum required to meet statutory duties will result in a violation of Congress’ intentions.
Several members of Congress also opposed the executive order. On March 26th, Senators Jack Reed, Kirsten Gillibrand, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski also wrote letters to Sonderling. This letter again defines the role and duties of IMLS when it comes to fundraising institutions across the United States.
From their letter:
Libraries and museums play an important role in our community. The library provides important information and engagement for everyone on a wide range of topics, including skills and career training, broadband, and computing services. The IMLS grant will enable libraries to develop services in all communities across the country, including diverse geographical, cultural, socioeconomic backgrounds, individuals with disabilities, rural and urban residents, Native Americans, military families, veterans and caregivers. The museum serves not only as a centre for education, but also as a driving force for local economic development. The IMLS Bureau of Museum Services is the largest dedicated source of investment in museums in our country, usually supporting more than 700,000 jobs and giving $50 billion a year to the US economy. IMLS funding plays a key role in this economic impact by helping museums reach more visitors and promote community development.
While the letter circulated, another letter was handed over around the House of Representatives. The letter was shared among the House members, led by Representatives Dina Titus (NV-01) and Suzanne Bonamichi (OR-01). It urged them to sign on when asking the administration to review executive orders related to IMLS funding and structure.
Public libraries and public library associations across the country are loudly speaking about how potential IML reductions will affect services at the state and local level. Some services that can most quickly and directly affect the users of your library users may end the availability of digital resources via apps such as Libby.
It’s worth noting that there have been some virus claims online about the cuts in IMLS funding, the fear of Overdrive’s Libby app and other similar digital resource programs. do not have Directly funded by IMLS. However, it may be available in individual states through funds received via IMLS. This is an important distinction. Libby and other Eresources are not creating libraries themselves with third-party systems that license access to materials. The library pays for that access.
E-books and digital audiobook services are not funded by IMLS money in all states. It also makes it clear that many different audiences and needs are met without the recognition of Libby’s name because there are many different types of ebooks and digital audiobooks available. In states where such services have become available through IMLS money, it is difficult to determine where such impacts will be felt immediately, as apps and resources are often not explicitly named by state funding. For example, Indiana libraries use IMLS funding from the Indiana Digital Library, which provides access to Libby, among many databases and services.
Find a compilation of State Library Associations, local level libraries, social media library workers/advocates, and/or local/regional news sources. While this is not a comprehensive list, many people here in the state rely on IMLS funds to help them acquire, fund and maintain important digital resources.
The future of IMLS remains uncertain and it is essential that, on behalf of the local library, one of the most important federal agencies, on behalf of the local library, with a continuous effort to rewrite America’s truth through US taxpayers’ funded and respected executive orders and whitewashed cultural institutions.
The most devastated by potential cuts are rural and small libraries, the most affected by the demolition of the Department of Education and the US Postal Service.
It remains to be seen whether Trump and his Doge team have legal authority to shut down IML completely. Eliminating all staff and suspending all funds certainly opposes the administration’s own order to touch only activities other than “statutory requirements.” Expect a case to be filed in court, as we saw in other slash and burn efforts taken by the administrators who line up constitutional authority.
