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On March 14th, 2025 President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14238, aimed at dismantling seven federal agencies, including the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), which is deemed as “unnecessary elements of the Federal bureaucracy," and will be reduced to the "maximum extent" by law. As the main federal agency responsible for funding libraries, the elimination of IMLS will not only result in a significant loss of library and museum professionals, but it will also diminish services and resources that support the educational needs of millions of patrons and students nationwide.

Executive Order 14238 also mandates that any future budget requests for IMLS made to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will be denied.

In response, the American Library Association (ALA) and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees filed a federal lawsuit on April 6th, followed by a motion for a preliminary injunction on April 10th, in an effort to halt these cuts. Despite their efforts, a federal judge in Washington, D.C. denied their request for the injunction (Source: ALA).

As of 2024, the IMLS annual budget was $294.8 million with over $211 million exclusively dedicated to library services which, in total, comprises 0.004% of the 2024 United States Federal budget (Source: IMLS).

IMLS Mission:

"The mission of IMLS is to advance, support, and empower America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development.

The agency carries out its charge as it adapts to meet the changing needs of our nation’s museums and libraries and their communities. IMLS’s mission is essential to helping these institutions navigate change and continue to improve their services."

IMLS Vision:

"IMLS envisions a nation where individuals and communities have access to museums and libraries to learn from and be inspired by the trusted information, ideas, and stories they contain about our diverse natural and cultural heritage."

(Source: IMLS)

The institutions that receive federal funding from IMLS and are therefore the most impacted by the executive order are public libraries and public museums. They receive IMLS funding to supplement funding from state support and local town, city, and/or county tax revenue.

Private and academic libraries are funded differently.

Private libraries' funding is derived from founder and/or owner funding in addition to revenue from membership fees, private foundations, estate bequests, grants, and profits from programs and services. While academic libraries are supported primarily by institutional funding through their budget. Revenue from tuition, fees, endowments, donations, library fines, service fees, and, in for state or public colleges and universities, state funding as well. 

Now with funding reduced to the "maximum extent," many libraries must seek and rely on alternate sources of financial support, including state funding, to maintain resources such as database subscriptions and programming opportunities. If they cannot, they will be forced to make cuts.

Supporters of Executive Order 14238 may believe that public libraries do not require funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), under the assumption that local municipalities have sufficient budgets to fully support their local libraries. Some argue that library funding is a local responsibility, and that federal support is unnecessary or redundant. While this perspective assumes that cities and counties are capable of covering both operational and programmatic costs, in practice, many municipalities—especially smaller or economically disadvantaged ones—struggle to meet even basic service demands.

Without IMLS support, many libraries would be forced to scale back services, reduce staff, or eliminate programming altogether because, unlike private or academic libraries, public libraries are funded largely by city, county, and state taxes, donors, and government grants. As a result, public library budgets vary drastically depending on the size and wealth of a municipality. For example, the New York Public Library is in a large densely populated urban environment has far greater financial support from taxes and donors than a rural small-town library in Mississippi.

In Short:

• Defunding supporters argue that public libraries are purely local entities and should therefore be funded locally. Federal funds should not contribute to American public education in the form of libraries or museums. 
• Funding supporters argue that federal funding is necessary to balance out financial discrepancies amongst public libraries. Wealthier libraries likely will not feel the loss of federal funding as acutely as small, rural libraries whose local municipalities do not have the finances to support a public library responsible for purchasing resources for the entire community to enjoy for free.
  • Pubic resources include newspaper access, study and homework help, research assistance, financial literacy, language learning, resume help, Wi-Fi access, tech training, and many more. See BPL's Events page to see examples.

While public libraries across the nation are scrambling to adjust to budgets without federal funding, some are now simultaneously facing cuts from their state as a result of censorship and the demand for compliance.

In Fairhope, Alabama, complaints from conservative parents stemming from "controversial" titles being circulated in the teen section led to the Alabama Public Library Service Board of Trustees to cut funding to Fairhope Public Library in March.

The titles in question had topics or themes including sexual and LGBTQIA+ content. An AP news article states one of the titles explicitly mentioned included Patricia McCormick's 2006 novel and National Book Award finalist, "Sold," which is about thirteen-year-old Lakshmi, a Nepalese girl who was sold into prostitution by her stepfather (Source: AP). 

According to the article, Fairhope Public Library received complaints about dozens of titles prior to Alabama law and state code changes implemented in 2024 which now requires public libraries to protect children and teens from "sexually explicit or other material deemed inappropriate for children or youth" (Source: AP). Since going in effect, they reviewed the materials in question again, deemed them appropriate for youth, and, consequently, have lost $42,000 in state funding in an attempt by the board to force the library's compliance (Source: AP).

Although the board states the matter is about upholding law and codes rather than book-banning [see Book-Bans Hot Topics Research Guide], this action is seen by the American Library Association as an act of censorship (Source: AP).

Massachusetts public libraries are being impacted by the loss of funding from IMLS. In the Online Resources section on bpl.org, the Boston Public Library published the following statement:

"Beginning July 1, 2025, Massachusetts residents experienced significant reductions in access to statewide research databases due to the elimination of federal funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), following Executive Order 14238. While the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) and the Massachusetts Library System (MLS) are striving to preserve key services, including support for eBooks and the Commonwealth Catalog, many valuable resources will no longer be available."

The Boston Public Library already provides access to materials and resources for those who live, work, and study in Massachusetts - therefore allowing lesser-funded libraries to allocate funds elsewhere.

While BPL does not rely heavily on federal funding, we are still having to reassess what resources we provide. BPL has already removed dozens of online resources used previously for researching and or eReading. More cuts are expected.

At the Boston Public library, as of 5:00PM on September 30, 2025, patrons will no longer have access to Hoopla. Please see our "Evolving our Digital Library: What's New, What's Changing" blog article for more information about its discontinuation and how to save your Hoopla history.

Can IMLS Funding Be Restored?

• The executive order could be modified or rescinded by President Trump or a future president.
• If found to violate a federal law or the Constitution, a court could overturn provisions of the executive order.
• Congress could override President Trump's executive order.

How Can the Public Get Involved?

If people wish to advocate for IMLS, the ALA proposes they can:

• Become a supporter of the American Library Association (ALA).
• Join or renew their ALA memberships.
• Write to local newspapers advocating for IMLS, its importance, and what its funding provides for communities.

(Source: ALA)

                                                                                                                      (Source: ALA)