Thank you to everyone who took the time over the past year to contact Congress and representatives about the importance of libraries. It has made a difference.
On Friday, November 21st, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island permanently blocked the Trump Administration’s Executive Order to dismantle the IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Services, the country’s only federal agency dedicated to supporting libraries and museums. The decision was in response to a lawsuit filed by the Attorneys General of 21 states (including MA). On March 14th the Trump Administration issued an executive order to dismantle the agency. These actions left IMLS unable to fulfill its role required by federal law, and interrupted and disrupted library services nationwide. Disruptions include but are not limited to state-wide interlibrary loan shutdowns, cuts to resources and databases (as happened in MA libraries), and staff layoffs.
This new ruling nullifies the Administration’s actions and permanently prohibits such actions from taking place in the future, to take effect immediately.
ALA (American Library Association) president, Sam Helmic said on Friday November 21st, “Today’s court decision is a powerful affirmation of what libraries mean to America. It restores everything that the executive order tried to take away: shared access to books in rural and remote areas, essential virtual learning tools, children’s reading programs and the countless library services available to anyone who walks into a public, school or academic library. This isn’t just a win for the 21 states who filed the case–it’s a win for every library user and every American in every state and territory.”
While the ruling protects the IMLS from being dismantled, the government’s FY2026 budget is still being finalized and library’s across the country are still expecting cuts to funds. The Nahant Public Library will keep everyone up to date on what continues to happen on Federal and state levels, here in the “Recent News” section of the library website and in our biweekly Wowbrary newsletter.