March 18, 2025, 12:54pm
Image from the New York Public Libraries Digital Collections
The hogmen and shock troops of the Trump-Musk administration have gone after another essential and beloved mainstay of public life: libraries. Trump signed a broad executive order last Friday that puts libraries in existential danger by dismantling the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) which supports and funds libraries and museums all across America.
The order takes an axe to seven different government bodies, instructing that “the non-statutory components and functions … shall be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.” Basically, “destroy yourself in a way that won’t blow back on us.”
This will be devastating for libraries, which get a majority of their federal funding through the IMLS. The American Library Association swiftly put out a statement castigating the order: “By eliminating the only federal agency dedicated to funding library services, the Trump administration’s executive order is cutting off at the knees the most beloved and trusted of American institutions and the staff and services they offer.” (Their complete statement is below.)
As the ALA lays out, more than 120,000 libraries across the country receive nearly $200 million in funds from the IMLS. The loss of this funding will have a brutal impact. And this isn’t just books. Libraries help with job applications, homework, veterans’ telehealth, and so much more. Any time I’ve talked to a librarian and asked them what they’ve done lately, it’s not shushing and late fees: the answer is always a long list of essential social services.
Libraries welcome people and provide what help they can, regardless of where a person comes from. They’re one of the few truly public spaces left in American life. It doesn’t strike me as a coicidence that this executive order targets the IMLS along with other equity oriented agencies like the Interagency Council on Homelessness, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, and the Minority Business Development Agency. Any way that America might offer a hand in help is being smote down.
Trump loves to say that he is just doing what he was asked to do by Americans, that he has a vast mandate to bleed everything dry. But that’s all crap, especially in this case. Americans love libraries — a 2022 survey found that a majority of people support them: 90% of voters across all parties have a favorable view of librarians, 89% said public libraries play an important role in communities, and 92% said the same about school libraries.
People also hate book bans, another of the GOP’s favorite cudgels: “(71%) oppose efforts to have books removed from their local public libraries, including majorities of Democrats (75%), independents (58%), and Republicans (70%).”
And libraries are good for people and communities, providing not just books, but essential resources and services. No one wants this, but this administration isn’t interesting in popular, only in savage displays of wanton power. Taking a wrecking ball to libraries is garishly cruel, which I’m sure is exactly the appeal. Is it legal? It doesn’t seem to matter anymore, especially since it’s rare to see an elected official on any side of the aisle willing to stand up against anything.
If you want to step up where electeds have stepped aside, Authors Against Book Bans has a call script and the ALA has a site with lots of different ways you can show up for your libraries, including forms to email your representatives, graphics to share on social media, and tools to speak up for libraries.
I have a hard time knowing how to describe this country any more. It’s happening here, right now, and we only have each other. Solidarity with librarians everywhere, from your neighborhood, to Palestine, and everywhere in between.
Here’s the ALA’s complete statement:
Americans have loved and relied on public, school and academic libraries for generations. By eliminating the only federal agency dedicated to funding library services, the Trump administration’s executive order is cutting off at the knees the most beloved and trusted of American institutions and the staff and services they offer:
– Early literacy development and grade-level reading programs
– Summer reading programs for kids
– High-speed internet access
– Employment assistance for job seekers
– Braille and talking books for people with visual impairments
– Homework and research resources for students and faculty
– Veterans’ telehealth spaces equipped with technology and staff support
– STEM programs, simulation equipment and training for workforce development
– Small business support for budding entrepreneurs
To dismiss some 75 committed workers and mission of an agency that advances opportunity and learning is to dismiss the aspirations and everyday needs of millions of Americans. And those who will feel that loss most keenly live in rural communities.
As seedbeds of literacy and innovation, our nation’s 125,000 public, school, academic and special libraries deserve more, not less support. Libraries translate 0.003% of the federal budget into programs and services used by more than 1.2 billion people every year.
ALA implores President Trump to reconsider this short-sighted decision. We encourage U.S. Congressmembers, Senators and decision makers at every level of government to visit the libraries that serve their constituents and urge the White House to spare the modest federal funding for America’s libraries. And we call on all Americans who value reading, learning, and enrichment to reach out to their elected leaders and Show Up For Our Libraries at library and school meetings, town halls, and everywhere decisions are made about libraries.
