EveryLibrary Condemns the Trump Administration's Termination of IMLS Grants as an Attack on Libraries, Museums, and Archives Everywhere.

Last night, libraries across the country began receiving official notices from the Acting Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services terminating their grants, effective April 1, 2025.

We protest this unlawful action in the strongest terms.

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This includes authorized and approved Grants to States projects, National Leadership Grants, and Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian grants.

In 2024, 633 grant recipients entered into legally binding plans with IMLS, delivered services and fulfilled obligations in good faith, and are now being denied reimbursement by the federal government.

The reason given is that the grants are “inconsistent with IMLS’ priorities” and that President Trump’s Executive Order of March 14, 2025, “mandates that the IMLS eliminate all non-statutorily required activities and functions.”

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The Acting Director has not consulted with the National Museum and Library Services Board — the statutory advisory body to the agency — to change or modify the agency’s priorities, nor has he engaged in any public or stakeholder consultation to determine new priorities. Terminating these grants appears to us to have exceeded the plain terms of the Executive Order; all of these grants are statutory obligations of the agency. We must ask whether he took these actions on his own recognizance or if he acted under the direction of the Office of Management and Budget or the Division of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This sweeping and immediate termination of these grants follows the March 31 action placing IMLS staff on administrative leave.

The Grants to States program, authorized under Section 9141 of the Museum and Library Services Act (20 U.S.C. § 9141), is the single largest source of federal library funding, distributing over $180 million annually to every state and territory library administrative agency. The program also requires states to submit five-year plans outlining goals and measurable outcomes, which are reviewed and approved by IMLS under statute. The sudden termination of these grant agreements directly violates the agency’s legal responsibilities under federal law and undermines one of the most effective, community-focused capacity-building programs in the country.

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In addition to the Grants to States program, we must underscore that National Leadership Grants, Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian (LB21) grants, and Museum Services grants are all funded through congressional appropriations. Funding these grants is not optional — they are part of the agency’s core mandate and must be administered and disbursed in accordance with law. Collectively, they support a wide range of eligible institutions, including individual libraries, museums, archives, academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, and independent researchers. They build institutional capacity, create scalable solutions, and ensure that library and museum services continue to meet the evolving needs of the public. Their termination not only disregards statutory obligations but directly harms the institutions and individuals working to serve communities across the country. 

We would like to acknowledge and thank the National Museum and Library Services Board — the statutory advisory body to the agency — for its leadership at this moment. The Board has now issued two formal letters to the Acting Director outlining IMLS’s legal obligations under the Museum and Library Services Act and the current federal appropriations. These letters plainly and directly advise the Acting Director about the agency’s required duties and the scope of its lawful operations. The Acting Director cannot claim to be unaware or uninformed. To date, he has made no public reply and appears to be disregarding the Board’s counsel and the Board itself — despite its role being clearly established by Congress in statute. This disregard is troubling and unacceptable.

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We cannot imagine a scenario where the Acting Director has the authority to nullify a duly enacted federal law or unilaterally cancel the distribution of funds that Congress has directed to states. We call on the Congressional committees of jurisdiction — including the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions — along with members from both sides of the aisle to exercise their oversight powers immediately. Grants to States operates as a reimbursement program. State Library Agencies have already obligated and expended these funds in good faith, delivering services to their communities under federally approved plans. Terminating payments now is not only a policy failure — it is a breach of trust. IMLS owes these payments under the full faith and credit of the United States government. Congress must act swiftly to ensure that these legal obligations are met and that this vital federal-state partnership is not unraveled by executive overreach.

This abrupt termination of Grants to States comes in the middle of the federal fiscal year and will create sudden, significant shortfalls in nearly every state library budget. Because of the urgent and far-reaching consequences of this crisis for the states, we are expanding and enhancing our www.SaveIMLS.org campaign to include tools that make it easy to contact not only members of Congress but also every governor and state legislator. Almost every state begins its new fiscal year on July 1. Governors and legislators — especially those serving on state budget, finance, appropriations, and ways and means committees — need to act now to stabilize their state agency budgets and plan for continuity of service. 

We urge state Attorneys General to consider whether this is the moment to act in defense of their state library agencies and the interests of all grant recipients. We believe that a coordinated, multi-state lawsuit to require that IMLS continue to pay out its statutory obligations and return staff to work would be appropriate and warranted. Such a suit would likely examine whether the Executive Order exceeds the President’s constitutional authority, whether its implementation unlawfully undermines statutory obligations under the Museum and Library Services Act, and whether the sudden termination of funding causes demonstrable harm. We believe it does. 

EveryLibrary will continue to fight for the federal role in supporting libraries, museums, and archives — and for the professionals and institutions who serve every American every day. Visit SaveIMLS.org today for more information and to make your voice heard for libraries, archives, and museums everywhere.