Congress Maintains Most Federal Funding for Libraries, Museums, and Archives.

Rebuking President Trump, Congress maintains most of the federal funding for libraries, museums, and archives.

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Congress has passed the final FY2026 minibus appropriations bills that fund our nation’s core cultural and knowledge institutions. These budget bills protect funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the Library of Congress (LOC), and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), while rejecting sweeping cuts proposed by the President that would have deeply harmed libraries, museums, and archives in every state.

This outcome matters. The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the only federal agency dedicated to supporting libraries and museums nationwide. The Library of Congress and the National Archives are foundational to our democracy, preserving knowledge, safeguarding records, and serving researchers, educators, students, journalists, and the public. Congress’s decision to essentially level fund these agencies shows that these institutions cannot be dismantled by Executive Order or a tweet.

Thank you to 250,000 advocates nationwide

None of this happened by accident. EveryLibrary is honored to have helped nearly 250,000 people contact Congress to defend IMLS, the Library of Congress, and the National Archives. They came from every congressional district and from all walks of life. These advocates and activists are library users, educators, parents, librarians, veterans, small-business owners, students, researchers, and community leaders.

Donate $5 today and help continue the fight for libraries.

It is also important to share this plainly: EveryLibrary is the only national library organization spending money every day to advertise these calls to action so they reach beyond the library sector itself. We invest in outreach that connects with everyday Americans on social media and digital platforms so they can quickly understand what’s at stake and take meaningful action. That scale of engagement is one reason why Congress heard, loudly and clearly, that Americans will not accept the dismantling of their libraries, archives, and museums.

And this fight is not new. Every Trump budget since 2017 has proposed ending IMLS entirely. Every single time, EveryLibrary has helped Americans stand up and turn those cuts around.

The President’s executive order from last March to gut IMLS programs has been halted by the courts, but the administration is appealing that decision, even though the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has separately also concluded that the Administration’s rollback of IMLS programs to state libraries and other grantees violated federal law.

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We cannot take our eyes off what comes next. FY2027 is already on the horizon, and we are deeply concerned about how the Administration may attempt to redirect congressionally appropriated funds away from authorized grant programs and services and toward pet projects and agenda-driven activities.

We are particularly troubled by misallocations tied to America 250 initiatives that stray from Congressional intent, such as the “Book Trucks,” which function less as library services and more like propaganda vehicles tied to the 250th anniversary narrative. We are equally alarmed by political directives aimed at reshaping historical interpretation at institutions like the Smithsonian and within the National Park Service to fit a narrow American Exceptionalism frame.

Compounding these concerns, we have now gone more than a year without permanent leadership at key institutions: no permanent Director of IMLS, no Librarian of Congress, and no independent Archivist of the United States. These vacancies weaken institutional independence and make it harder for Congress and the public to ensure that federal agencies are carrying out their missions as intended.

Just five dollars a month goes a long way to fight for libraries.

We know how hard it is to keep public attention on these issues. That’s why we have already spent tens of thousands of dollars on outreach and advertising to break through the noise, especially on social media, meeting people where they are, informing them quickly, and giving them a clear way to act.

This approach works. If you agree that this kind of advocacy is smart, effective, and necessary, we invite you to become a monthly donor today.

We have fewer than 300 days until the midterms, and many months to go before the next federal budget fight, and it will be a fight. Monthly donors make the difference for us, just as we work every day to make a difference for libraries, archives, and museums in Washington, D.C., and across the country.

We need to remain vigilant about the Trump Administration, and EveryLibrary will continue to hold them accountable to Congressional intent for IMLS funding. And we need more people with us in that campaign.

Please join us.