Dear friends and supporters,
Since March 14th, when President Trump issued an executive order calling for the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law,” we have received several questions from you asking for the latest news or how to help.
Updates:
On March 26, Maine’s Senator Susan Collins joined Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) in issuing a bipartisan letter to IMLS Acting Director Keith Sonderling. “As the lead authors of the Museum and Library Services Act (MLSA) of 2018 (PL 115- 40), which was signed into law by President Trump, we write to remind the Administration of its obligation to faithfully execute the provisions of the law as authorized.”
On March 31, despite this letter, nearly all the approximately 77 employees at IMLS were put on paid administrative leave for up to 90 days. They were ordered not to do any work related to IMLS, told their email accounts would be disabled, and instructed to leave all government issued property behind.
On April 3, Maine’s State Librarian, Lori Fisher, was notified an IMLS grant by way of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) had been terminated effective immediately. The grant of $261,184 was awarded in August 2024 for the period of 9/2024-8/2026 to support the digitization of Maine’s French language newspapers from 1870s-1970s. The elimination of funds resulted in two contract workers being let go.
Last fiscal year, the Maine State Library (MSL) was awarded $1,526,754 from IMLS by way of the Library Services & Technology Act (LSTA). Amounts vary from year to year and are based on population. These funds support a plethora of services for Maine’s 600 school libraries; 257 public libraries; 33 academic libraries in colleges and universities; and select special libraries throughout the state. If there are no staff to process these Grants to States, one could assume there will be no grants.
On April 4, Maine’s Attorney General Aaron M. Frey joined 20 other attorneys general suing the Trump administration to stop the dismantling of the only federal department protecting libraries and museums.
On April 7, the American Library Association and AFSCME, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, filed a motion for a preliminary injunction requesting President Trump’s administration halt the dismantling of IMLS.
On April 9, MSL announced they were laying off 13 people – approximately 30% of their staff – whose positions are supported by federal funding. The layoff process is controlled by the employee union and the State’s Human Resources Department; therefore, MSL does not yet know which people will be laid off, ergo which services will be impacted.
On April 10, MSL issued a press release announcing their closure for 2 weeks while they reorganize and prioritize services.
To date, they have still not received any notification from IMLS regarding the rest of the state’s IMLS LSTA funds.
What can you do?
Right now, if you object to the elimination of these funds and the adverse effect it will have on library services, we encourage you to contact our Congressional delegation. Repeatedly. If our elected officials keep getting pressure from constituents, they will pass that pressure on.
Senator Collins is in a unique position because she is Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee – the committee that votes to approve congressional spending which includes IMLS. Senator Collins also secured an additional $6.1 million for construction and renovation projects for 5 Maine libraries through Agriculture and Rural Development; Transportation; and Housing and Urban Development (THUD) bills.
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Thank you to everyone who has reached out to YPL. It feels good to know our community supports its library, and we are ever so grateful for it.
We will keep you informed of any updates.
Please see our news update from March 21, 2025 for information on the services and programs IMLS supports in our state.
Michelle Sampson
Executive Director
