One Year of the Trump Administration

In the first year of Donald Trump’s second presidency, libraries have been buffeted by a string of policies and executive orders. Some changes have been sweeping, while others were smaller in scope but still had significant impacts in specific regions or for specific library services. Many have forced librarians and libraries to adapt in order to continue essential services.

Uncertainty may be the most notable overarching theme of federal policy in the past year. Legal challenges and other acts of resistance by librarians have prevented, overturned, or at least delayed some of the administration’s most notable attacks on libraries from taking effect. In other cases, policy changes have been announced that may affect libraries and librarians, but it’s not yet clear the impact those changes will have.

Here are several updates on federal policies and decrees that have and will continue to affect libraries across the US.

IMLS status remains uncertain

After President Trump issued an executive order on March 14 eliminating the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), both ALA and a group of state attorneys general filed lawsuits (ALA v. Sonderling and State of Rhode Island v. Trump, respectively) to prevent the dismantling of IMLS.

The Rhode Island case has progressed more quickly. An injunction preventing the executive order from taking effect was granted in May, and several government requests to stay that injunction have been denied. Most recently, on November 21, the US District Court for the District of Rhode Island issued a ruling blocking the order. The shutdown extended ALA’s case into 2026, and the administration is appealing the Rhode Island decision in the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

IMLS is currently being funded at FY2025 levels through January 30 under the continuing resolution that ended the federal government shutdown. The current proposed FY2026 budget for IMLS includes a slight cut from FY2025 levels, but that could change in the ongoing budget negotiations.

IMLS reinstated all federal grants in a three-sentence statement on December 3, but not before interlibrary loan services across several states were impacted. The Florida Library Delivery Service shut down in October due to the lack of federal funding, although Florida’s Division of Library and Information Services announced that the service will resume in early 2026. Meanwhile, the IA Shares program reduced its delivery schedule from twice a week to once a week for most libraries.

Meanwhile, the IMLS is under new, Trump-appointed leadership that has made significant changes to the services it provides. According to the Well Sourced blog, IMLS’s 21st Century Librarian Grant and National Leadership Grants for Libraries programs awarded significantly less money than was authorized, as the money was diverted to projects like Freedom Trucks, six mobile exhibits that will “travel across the country throughout 2026, sharing the story of our nation’s founding.”

ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Office, Nov. 21; Words and Money, Nov. 19; Publishers Weekly, Jan. 21; Book Riot, Sept. 12, Nov. 24; IMLS, Dec. 3, Sept. 8; The Independent Florida Alligator, Oct. 12; Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Gazette, July 29; The Rural Blog, Dec. 2; The New York Times, Nov. 10; Well Sourced, Oct. 11

Register of Copyrights reinstated—for now

In September, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reinstated Shira Perlmutter, whom President Trump had fired as Register of Copyrights in the US Copyright Office on May 10. Perlmutter had sued on the grounds that only the legislative branch has the authority to hire and fire employees of the Library of Congress (LC), which includes the Copyright Office. However, the Trump administration appealed to the US Supreme Court on October 27, claiming that the Register of Copyrights “wields executive power” and the president should have termination authority, even though the “law designates the head of the library as the person with the power to remove the register.”

CNN reported that on November 26, the Supreme Court “deferr[ed] a decision on his emergency appeal until it resolves a pair of related cases” concerning whether the president has the power to remove Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Lisa Cook, officials from the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Reserve, respectively. The court heard arguments in Trump v. Slaughter on December 8, and in Cook’s case on January 21

Leadership of the Library of Congress remains in question after Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden was fired in May, two days before Perlmutter’s original dismissal. While Trump declared he had named US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as acting librarian of Congress, Principal Deputy Librarian of the Library of Congress Robert Newlen is identified as acting librarian of Congress on the library’s website and fulfilled that role at LC’s National Book Festival in September.

Associated Press, Oct. 27; Roll Call, Nov. 10; CNN, Nov. 26; BBC, Dec. 8; NBC News, Jan. 21; C-SPAN, Sept. 6

Federal Government Shutdown

The longest shutdown of the federal government in US history lasted 43 days, from October 1 to November 12. LC, IMLS, Government Publishing Office, 16 presidential libraries that operate under the National Archives and Records Administration, and other federal agencies employing librarians all closed during that period, halting services and putting those librarians’ incomes and employment at risk. The passage of the funding package that ended the shutdown maintained FY2026 funding for LC at the same level as FY2025, rejecting an earlier proposal to cut its funding by 10%. While LC was among the agencies whose 2026 funding was finalized in the agreement, most of the government was funded only temporarily, through January 30. The House Appropriations Committee’s FY2026 funding bill, which was released January 20 and is currently being considered in Congress, includes increases for the Library Services and Technology Act and the Innovative Approaches to Literacy program.

Some libraries acted during the shutdown to counter concerns about shortfalls in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides food assistance for low-income individuals and families. Hawaii State Public Library System hosted a weeklong “Kōkua Food Drive” from November 3–7 to support food banks. Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library highlighted its program to provide free afterschool meals for children and teens and shared information about other local food support opportunities. While SNAP benefits were among the services canceled during the shutdown, a contingency fund covered benefits through the end of October, and many states provided benefits after that.

AL: The Scoop, Oct. 1; Library of Congress, Sept. 29; IMLS, Sept. 30; Government Publishing Office, Sept. 29; The New York Times, Oct. 2; RIPS Law Librarian Blog, Nov. 12; Roll Call, Nov. 10; CBS, Nov. 10; Cincinnati and Hamilton County (Ohio) Public Library, Oct. 30; ABC News, Nov. 1

Presidential library director ousted

Todd Arrington, director of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene, Kansas, resigned in October after refusing to provide a sword from the library’s collection for President Trump to give to King Charles III during a September state visit to the United Kingdom. The library’s holdings are US property, and the library is required by law to preserve them for the American public, but after the incident, Arrington was ordered to “resign or be fired,” as he told Kansas News Service. Arrington said he was told that he “could no longer be trusted with confidential information” after the incident.

NPR, Oct. 2; Military Times, Oct. 3; Kansas News Service, Oct. 2

Some libraries discontinue passport acceptance services

In October, public libraries that are organized as 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations rather than government agencies received notice from the US State Department that they would no longer be allowed to accept passport applications, even though many had successfully provided passport registration services for decades, and fees from the service made up a significant portion of the budgets for many of these libraries.

These libraries were often the most convenient or accessible provider of passport services: East Lake Community Library in Palm Harbor, Florida, noted that “residents will now need to travel outside East Lake for passport appointments.” (On December 15, the library said passport services would return January 5 “while the State Department finalizes our facility status.”)

Avon Grove Library, Ephrata Public Library, and Marysville-Rye Library, all in Pennsylvania, also reported discontinuing their passport services. Pennsylvania appears to be particularly affected by this policy, because libraries in the state commonly organize as 501(c)(3) nonprofits. (On December 2, Marysville-Rye reported receiving a brief extension “while next steps are being worked out.”) A bipartisan group of US representatives have cosponsored H.R. 6997, which would allow all public libraries organized as 501(c)(3) nonprofits to continue serving as passport acceptance facilities.

River Reporter (Narrowsburg, N.Y.), Nov. 3; 28/22 News (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.), Nov. 20, Hawley (Pa.) Public Library, Oct. 30; East Lake Community Library (Palm Harbor, Fla.), Nov. 17, Dec. 15; Avon Grove (Pa.) Library, Nov. 25; Ephrata (Pa.) Public Library, Nov. 24; Marysville (Pa.)-Rye Library, Nov. 18, Dec. 2

FCC ends E-Rate support for hotspot lending

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in September overturned a 2024 order that allowed public libraries and schools to use E-Rate funds for lendable Wi-Fi hotspots. More than 800 entities had applied for funding for hotspots in FY2025.

The FCC’s action was not the only threat to the E-Rate last year. In May, the US Senate passed a resolution introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) to rescind the hotspot lending order, although the House did not act on the resolution. And the US Supreme Court heard a pair of cases that threatened to overturn the Universal Service Fund, which operates the E-Rate program. The court’s June ruling in the combined cases upheld the constitutionality of the fund.

ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Office, Sept. 30, June 27; EdSurge, Oct. 21; Telecompetitor, Oct. 14; Technological Horizons in Education Journal, May 13

Military library censorship

Trump’s January 2025 executive orders prohibiting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) at federal agencies kicked off a wave of censorship on military bases and military academies, much of which was later overturned. After US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered 381 books removed from the Nimitz Library at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, on April 4, all but about 20 books were returned by the end of May, after public outcry and efforts by bookstores and Anne Arundel County (Md.) Public Library to provide midshipmen with alternative means to access the removed books.

Libraries at several Army training facilities, including the US Military Academy at West Point, New York, and the Army War College in Pennsylvania, as well as the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, were also ordered to review books for DEI content in April. Tim Bakken, a civilian West Point professor of law, filed a lawsuit against the academy September 22 over several free speech and academic freedom issues, including the removal of books from the library.

In October, Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ordered books that had been removed from school libraries on military bases to be returned. She wrote that “the removals were not rooted in pedagogical concerns” but instead found “improper partisan motivation underlying [defendants’] actions.”

In the wake of the censorship actions, the group Military Families for Free Expression formed to “stand up against censorship and book bans, grounded in the freedoms protected by those in uniform.” And US Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) introduced the Stop Censoring Military Families Act, which would restore all removed books and protect school curricula from political influence.

Associated Press, May 21, Apr. 15, Sept. 22; The 19th News, May 30; Public Libraries Online, June 2; American Libraries, Mar. 19; NPR, Oct. 21; Military Families for Free Expression, May 20

Tariffs disrupt international interlibrary loan

A July 30 executive order eliminated the de minimus tariff exception effective August 29. The exception applied to items worth $800 or less that were shipped to the United States, which meant that interlibrary loan (ILL) could operate internationally without additional taxes. When it was revoked, some book vendors, document suppliers, and even entire countries paused shipping to the US. Bryn Mawr (Pa.) College Interlibrary Loan Coordinator Jacob Long reported increasing fees, delays, and even packages being destroyed while waiting for necessary paperwork.

The library community scrambled to address the disruption. The Reference and User Services Association’s Sharing and Transforming Access to Resources Section developed a new portal dedicated to information about international interlibrary loan after the elimination of the de minimus exception, including the crowdsourced International ILL Toolkit. OCLC’s SHARES community also collaborated to evaluate the situation and developed new wording to identify ILL packages so they could be processed correctly. By mid-September, participants suggested that most international interlibrary loan services had resumed with no or minimal tariff fees.

OCLC Research Hanging Together Blog, Sept. 15; USA Today, Aug. 25; Bryn Mawr (Pa.) College, Oct. 23

Department of Education restructuring

In November, ALA raised concerns about the Trump administration’s efforts to restructure the US Department of Education. The administration announced a plan to shift six offices to other agencies, a preliminary step toward the ultimate elimination of the department. Among the offices included in the plan is the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), which is moving to the Department of Labor. OESE administers the Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) program, which supports programs to develop and improve literacy skills in low-income communities, particularly through school libraries. The grant awarded more than $7.7 million in new awards in FY2023, the most recent year for which the Department of Education website provides details.

The plan is facing legal and congressional challenges, as three of the offices, including OESE, were explicitly assigned to the Department of Education by Congress. If it does take effect, however, ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Office Deputy Director Kevin Maher told American Libraries that IAL would be administered by an agency with little knowledge of how school libraries operate, and could impede the program evaluation required by Congress, potentially giving a false impression that the program is ineffective and providing a pretext to end it.

ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Office, Nov. 20; Politico, Nov. 18; NPR, Nov. 18

Federal agency cutbacks include libraries

Workers at the four Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) libraries were among the 600 positions eliminated at the CDC in October. More than 3,000 CDC employees received termination notices in 2025, according to the American Federation of Government Employees, the union that represents federal workers. The October layoffs were particularly chaotic: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), of which CDC is a part, sent more than 1,700 reduction in force notices across HHS on October 10, but rescinded almost 800 of them the next day, claiming they were inaccurately sent due to “data discrepancies and processing errors.” HHS also did not confirm the number of CDC layoffs or specific groups affected; current and former CDC staff and union members collected information from affected employees to generate their estimates.

The CDC isn’t the only federal body that has slashed its library workforce. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) closed its largest library, which served Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, on January 2. The library’s closure is part of a larger reorganization that will close 13 buildings and more than 100 laboratories on Goddard’s campus by March. A NASA spokesperson said the agency would review the library’s holdings—some 100,000 volumes, many not digitized or available elsewhere—to determine which would be stored in a government warehouse and which would be disposed of. Goddard has planned for the consolidation and demolition of some buildings and construction of others since 2022, but many employees and Democratic officials claimed the Trump administration rushed the closure during the government shutdown.

NPR, Oct. 16; The Hill, Oct. 14, Oct. 15; The New York Times, Dec. 31

Universities targeted

On October 1, the US Department of Education sent the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education, a proposal that would threaten federal funding unless the universities agree to a sweeping set of new policies, to nine universities. While the compact does not explicitly discuss libraries, it would require “all of the university’s academic units, including all colleges, faculties, schools, departments, programs, centers, and institutes” to “abstain from actions or speech relating to societal and political events except in cases in which external events have a direct impact upon the university.” Library collections, events, exhibits, and speakers could be restricted by such a sweeping policy.

While seven universities rejected the compact, and none of the nine recipients have publicly accepted it, the administration’s targeting of “wokeness” and diversity, equity, and inclusion still loom, with uncertain effects for libraries. As one example: The upcoming Code4Lib Conference in March 2026 was originally scheduled to be held at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh (which was not among the universities sent the compact). However, after a review ordered by the US Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, CMU determined that the conference’s diversity scholarship violated the administration’s interpretation of Title VI and Title IX of the Civil Rights Act and determined that the university could not host the event. Ann Marie Mesco, chair of the conference planning committee, confirmed to American Libraries that the conference has been relocated to a hotel in Philadelphia.

Washington Post, Oct. 3; Daily Pennsylvanian, Oct. 3; Everybody’s Libraries, Oct. 3; The Hill, Oct. 21