From the Latest Update in the Library’s Wowbrary Newsletter:
Thank you to everyone who took the time over the past few months to contact Congress and representatives about the importance of libraries. It has made a difference. There is still a ways to go, but there is promising, positive news in regards to the future of the IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Services).
On Tuesday September 2nd, The House Appropriations Committee released its version of the Federal Fiscal Year 2026 Budget, and it included $291.8 million for the IMLS. In its version, the Senate included $295 million for IMLS funding. This is a $3 million reduction from the previous year, but it’s a big change from what was previously announced from the president’s budget, which would end up terminating the agency.
This budget still needs to pass in the House and then reconcile with the House and Senate. There is still work to do. Time will tell what happens to the final budget. However, this is real positive news for public libraries. Since March 14, when the Trump administration dismantled the IMLS with an Executive Order, public libraries across the United States have suffered. The IMLS budget comprises less than .005% of the full federal budget, yet has enormous impact on communities nationwide. The impact of the Executive Order has already caused untold damage to libraries across the country. Employees have been laid off, necessary services have been cut, and federal funding has been revoked, though some has been re-instated.
The Nahant Public Library will keep everyone up to date on what continues to happen on Federal and state levels, here in the newsletter and in the “Recent News” section of the library website.
Previous Update:
There is still time to save the IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Services)
Since March 14, when the Trump administration dismantled the IMLS with an Executive Order, public libraries across the United States have suffered. The IMLS budget comprises less than .005% of the full federal budget, yet has enormous impact on communities nationwide. The impact of the Executive Order has already caused untold damage to libraries across the country. Employees have been laid off, necessary services have been cut, and federal funding has been revoked (though some has been re-instated). Public libraries in MA have lost grants they have already been awarded. Libraries in Texas, Washington and Massachusetts, including the Nahant Public Library have already lost a number of electronic resources. Public libraries in South Dakota and Iowa have lost their Interlibrary Loan services. If there is no budget for 2026 or if the Museum and Library Services Act of 2018 is not reauthorized, more services and employees will be lost.
There are two lawsuits ongoing in the federal courts, trying to protect the IMLS (Rhode Island v. Trump and The American Library Association v Sonderling).
The federal government has delayed making Fiscal Year 2026 decisions until September. Congress has taken a recess, due to the ongoing situation they said is related to the Epstein Files. As of the beginning of August, a new September date has not been set for making a final decision. It is possible that the government will shut down. However, there is still time to contact legislators and committees who make financial decisions that directly affect the future of public libraries. It is critical to ask for the restoration of the IMLS budget for fiscal year 2026 and for the reauthorization of the Museum and Library Services Act of 2018. The act is a 6 year services act, which ends September 30, 2025. Only congress has the power to reauthorize this act, and if they don’t, the IMLS will no longer be active, regardless of what happens to the budget.
If you would like to help save the IMLS and the free services public libraries provide, please follow the links below while there is still time.
Previous Update:
On March 14, a presidential executive order dictated that the IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Services) and other agencies be eliminated “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.” On March 31, the entire staff of the IMLS was put on leave. On April 3, services from the MA budget were immediately cut. What is the IMLS? The IMLS is a small federal agency with around 70 employees that awards grant funding to museums and libraries in the United States. Library funding draws less than 0.003% of the annual federal budget yet has enormous impact on communities nationwide.
The Director of MBLC (MA Board of Library Commissioners) eloquently said at this year’s MA Library Association conference, “The President has determined that the Institute of Museum and Library Services is ‘unnecessary.’ But we know the opposite to be true. We know that welcoming ALL, including diverse voices in our collections, and providing free and equitable access to library services make public libraries the cornerstone of a free democratic society.”
On May 2, the Trump administration released the Fiscal Year 2026 federal budget proposal, which called for eliminating the budget for the IMLS entirely. On June 6, a federal judge denied the American Library Association’s motion to block the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the IMLS, allowing the Trump administration to proceed with efforts to destroy all IMLS services. This came after a federal district court in Rhode Island issued a preliminary injunction in a separate case on May 6, prohibiting the agency from shutting down. This all comes after libraries across the United States have cut services, programming, and even staff.
Thankfully, in MA, full funding for ComCat (the Commonwealth Catalog) will continue for Fiscal Year 2026. More than 103,000 items were borrowed through ComCat last year. And support for statewide Library eBooks and eAudiobooks (LEA) program will continue in Fiscal year 2026. Residents borrowed close to 2 million eBooks and eAudiobooks through LEA last year, an increase of 19%. Federal funding pays for the platform, Libby. The amount of funding available to purchase eBooks and eAudiobooks however, has been slightly reduced, and it may now be slightly more difficult to borrow titles and the wait times on Libby will likely increase for the selection of available titles.
Maintaining these important services in MA (ComCat and LEA), comes at the expense of other library services.
Starting on July 1, 2025, statewide research database offerings will be significantly reduced. However, the MBLC and MLS (the Massachusetts Library System), which jointly fund databases, will maintain several of the most heavily used databases, like PebbleGo and Britannica Library. Despite an increase of 12% in database usage (60% of usage coming from MA schools), and 9 million full text downloads from research databases, all of the listed databases will be cut:
Boston Globe Article Archive
Britannica Moderna
Gale Academic OneFile Select
Gale General OneFile
Gale Health and Wellness
Gale in Context: Biography
Gale in Context: Elementary
Gale in Context: Environmental Studies
Gale in Context: Global Issues
Gale in Context: Middle School
Gale in Context: Science
Gale in Context: US History
Gale in Context: World History
Gale Interactive Science
Gale LegalForms
Gale Literature Resource Center
HeritageQuest Online
Peterson’s Career Prep
Peterson’s Test Prep
Science Database (ProQuest)
Transparent Language Online
MBLC anticipates announcing further reductions in the coming weeks.
In Massachusetts there were 28 million visits to public libraries last year and people borrowed more than 59 million items. Millions of people in MA rely on federally funded library services.
On May 8, the Trump administration fired the Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden. She was the first woman and first African American Librarian of Congress, and confirmed by Congress in 2016. She was respected for a career focusing on equity, patron privacy, and diversity. She was replaced by Todd Blanche who has no background in libraries.
MA has great senators, fighting for libraries. On Tuesday June 10, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Edward J. Markey sent the following letter to Acting Director of IMLS, Keith Sonderling who has no background in libraries.
If you’d like to help public libraries, please continue to visit them, attend programs, vote for them, and you can speak up for them HERE. We will continue to post updates to the newsletter and the website as we learn more.