IMLS – MBLC Blog

MBLC May 9 Update

Dear Colleagues,

Yesterday, President Trump fired Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress who has been a champion of intellectual freedom. Hearing this news early today was both upsetting and infuriating. My colleague Karen Mellor, the Chief of Library Services at the Rhode Island Office of Library and Information Services framed the situation eloquently when she said, “The country is poorer now for the irrational removal of a respected and thoughtful leader of one of our nation’s leading institutions.” Dr. Hayden was the first woman and first African American Librarian of Congress. She was appointed by President Obama and confirmed by Congress in 2016, and served under the Obama, Trump, Biden, and Trump’s current administrations. Her entire career has been focused on equity in library services, patron privacy, outreach, and building diversity within the library workforce.

Dr. Hayden’s abrupt termination is a stark reminder that our freedom, including our freedom to read, is being challenged across the country. Hereat home we need to continue efforts to pass legislation that protects that right — and protects the librarians who work to ensure that all voices are part of library collections.

We received notice this week that a federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction halting the further dismantling of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) that began on March 14 when President Trump signed Executive Order 14238 eliminating IMLS to “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.” The preliminary injunction comes as part of the lawsuit filed by attorneys general in 21 states, including Massachusetts. This is separate from the lawsuit filed by the American Library Association and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) which as I reported out in last week’s update, was granted a temporary restraining order to block the dismantling of IMLS.

These are solid wins. In the long game they may move us closer to a return to reliable federal funding for libraries. But right now, the MBLC is facing difficult decisions that are based on what we do know: federal uncertainty persists. We cannot sign contracts or move ahead with services for FY2026 based on what we hope will happen with federal funding.

We’ve been asked if there’s a possibility that the flow of federal funding will return for FY2026. There’s always that possibility. And should the funding requirements align with the values we’ve held since our founding in 1890, we’ll gladly accept them and put them to work serving the people of the Commonwealth.

Please continue to reach out with questions. We appreciate your support.

Sincerely,

Maureen Amyot

Director

Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners

MBLC May 2 Update

Dear Colleagues,

I’m glad to be able to start this update with some good news. Last night, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted a temporary restraining order to block the dismantling of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) that resulted from President Trump’s Executive Order 14238. We’re working to determine how this will impact our ability to access IMLS funds.

In the meantime, with FY2026 rapidly approaching, the MBLC continues to navigate and plan for staff and services in a rapidly changing environment. Some states have received IMLS reimbursements (including us—more information below) and there are reports that funds for FY2026 are coming. On the surface these sound like positive developments. However, with little to no staff at IMLS (the majority of IMLS employees were placed on a 90 day leave at the end of March) and what appear to be new requirements to receive funding, questions remain about IMLS as a reliable source of funding.

Some quick background: Prior to President Trump’s Executive Order, IMLS required the MBLC to submit a five-year plan that sets broad strategic direction for the use of federal funds, and after five years there is an evaluation. Plans and evaluations are on the MBLC website.

Now, compliance with other executive orders filed by President Trump may be part of the process to receive IMLS funding. In late April, the MBLC received the email below from IMLS Acting Director Keith Sonderling asking the MBLC for the following information:

From the Sonderling email:
Pursuant to 20 USC § 9134 and your obligations under the Grant Award Guidance and Statement of Assurances and Certifications, please provide IMLS with the following information:

Whether and how federal taxpayer dollars provided to you under the Grants to States program have been used, or are still being used, to subsidize programs that conflict with government policy as found below:

Executive Order 14151, Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing, and

Executive Order 14253, Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History, and

Executive Orders 13899 and 14188, Combating Anti-Semitism and Additional Measures To Combat Anti-Semitism, and

Executive Order 14168, Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, and

Executive Order 14202, Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias, and

Executive Order 14190, Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling, and

How federal taxpayer dollars provided to you under the Grants to States program are being used to facilitate access to resources that cultivate an educated and informed American citizenry, and
How you plan to involve your agencies in the upcoming celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States of America?

The MBLC is responding with the requested information. That said, the MBLC remains committed to serving everyone—it’s what we have done since 1890 and it’s what we will continue to do.

In terms of reimbursements, as a sort of trial run, the MBLC submitted a small reimbursement to IMLS on April 6. Nearly a month later, we received notice that reimbursement is being processed. Before President Trump’s Executive Order, turnaround time for reimbursements was a few days. This lag time may be indicative of the ongoing challenges of trying to run IMLS with little to no staff.

Both the instability at IMLS and the Sonderling email serve as indicators that at this point, federal funding remains uncertain. This places the MBLC in the position of planning for FY2026 without federal funding. The broad effect of President Trump’s Executive Orders, impacting more than libraries, and creating funding challenges across the state, means that the state budget cannot make up the total loss of the $3.6 million in IMLS funds the MBLC receives.

At yesterday’s MBLC board meeting, I called the situation dire. For example, the state House Ways and Means budget, which level funded all MBLC budget lines, leaves us short in our agency line, 7000-9101. Without the increase of $415,000 to this line as requested in the FY2026 Legislative Agenda, and in spite of cutting absolutely everything possible from that line, the MBLC cannot cover the basic costs for the agency – salaries and the lease on our office space. There isn’t any place else within our budget lines that funding for agency operations can come from.

In terms of MBLC staff, we’re already lean—having gone from a staffing high of 38 in previous years to 23 current staff members. To provide the services required in Massachusetts General Law Chapter 78, we need every single person we currently have on staff. If we cut staff, we will have to cut services, and that would put us out of compliance with state law.

For FY2026, we continue to work on plans and are in constant communication with the Massachusetts Library System (MLS) and vendors as we figure out funding levels that would allow us to continue as many services as possible with the funds we have left.

Our efforts now turn to the Senate which will release its budget proposal this month. It is crucial that progress is made towards the funding requested in the FY2026 Legislative Agenda, especially budget line 7000-9101, Board of Library Commissioners.

Sincerely,

Maureen Amyot

Director, Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners

MBLC March 28 update on IMLS

Dear Colleagues:

Much has happened in the two weeks in since President Trump signed Executive Order 14238. However, the primary question remains: will Massachusetts and all the other states receive the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) funding that is in statute?

To that end the IMLS Board sent a letter to IMLS Acting Director Keith Sonderling with the Board’s determination that “the Museum and Library Services Act of 2018, as codified in Title 20 of the U.S. Code, outlines specific statutory mandates that cannot be paused, reduced, or eliminated without violating Congressional intent and federal statute.”

U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) also led a bipartisan effort to send a letter to the IMLS acting director seeking assurances that allocated federal funding for IMLS will be implemented in a manner that is consistent with bipartisan approved appropriations laws. Senator Reed was joined by U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). Both are tangible examples that making our voices heard is paying off. Earlier this week, the Massachusetts Library Association (MLA) released a statement opposing the executive order, and sent information about a new initiative by Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) to collect stories: https://www.markey.senate.gov/trumpstories. MLA also informed us that Representatives Dina Titus (NV-01) and Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01) are circulating a letter for other members of the House of Representatives to sign onto asking the Administration to reconsider the executive order. The deadline for members of Congress to sign onto the letter is the end of the day today, Friday, March 28.

At the MBLC we appreciate the emails we’ve received letting us know how important databases are, or the huge impact an LSTA grant had on your community, or how much your patrons rely on ComCat. These stories help us demonstrate the importance and value of these services.

The MBLC continues working with other state library agencies to assess the impact and share information. The MBLC also met with the Talking Book Libraries, Networks, MLA, Massachusetts School Library Association, Massachusetts Center for the Book, and the Massachusetts Library System. We plan to hold meetings with the broader library community when we have more answers and more concrete information to share.

In the meantime, understanding how the MBLC receives federal funds may be helpful. The MBLC was awarded $3.6 million through IMLS’ Grants to States program. The MBLC does not receive the funds in a lump sum. Instead, we submit a monthly invoice and are reimbursed. We are concerned that this may end with little or no warning. It is in this environment of uncertainty that the MBLC is working to find ways to hold steady the services that libraries and patrons need. Services depend on staff. More than half of the MBLC’s 23 staff members are at least partially funded with federal dollars. The entire State Aid to Public Libraries staff falls into this category. So, while the State Aid Program is funded with state dollars, the ability for the program to function depends on staff who are partially funded with federal dollars. Staff continue to support and advise trustees, run the direct grant program, develop trainings, partnerships, and resources to support our most vulnerable populations, work with Networks, and more. Simply put, without staff at the agency we cannot provide the services required under Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 78. Our staff is the service we provide to the library community.

Thanks to the careful extensive planning by MBLC staff, statewide databases, ComCat, and the platform that makes statewide eBook sharing possible will continue uninterrupted for the remainder of the fiscal year (ending June 30, 2025). This allows some time for legislative efforts and potential legal pushbacks to play out.

That doesn’t mean we stop planning. Maintaining services is our priority and we will continue to work towards that end. Please continue to reach out with questions or concerns anytime.

Sincerely,

Maureen Amyot

Director, Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners