Libraries and museums nationwide are uncertain of their future ability to operate and provide services in the wake of an executive order issued March 14 by President Donald Trump that seeks to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services, among several other government entities.

“This order continues the reduction in the elements of the Federal bureaucracy that the President has determined are unnecessary,” the executive order states.

The order further calls for the elimination of “non-statutory components and functions” of seven governmental entities, including the museum and library institute, and the reduction of statutory function performances and associated personnel.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is a small — employing about 70 staff — independent government agency, established in 1996, that is the main source of federal support for libraries and museums nationwide. Their mission is to “advance, support and empower America’s museums, libraries and related organizations through grantmaking, research and policy development.”

According to their website, as a federal agency administering discretionary federal programs, the institute receives its funding through the annual appropriations process. According to the American Library Association, the Institute of Museum and Library Services provided nearly $211 million to libraries in 2024 — the largest portion distributed via their Grants-to-States award program. Last year, the museum and library institute awarded $1,276,792 to Alaska through Grants-to-States for fiscal year 2025.

Also according to the American Library Association, libraries represent a “microscopic” portion of the federal budget — just 0.003%.

All Institute of Museum and Library Services staff were placed on administrative leave Monday, March 31.

Statewide fallout

Alaska libraries, including those on the southern Kenai Peninsula, faced a funding scare last fall when the Public Library Assistance grant, disbursed annually by the Alaska State Libraries, Archives and Museums, was reduced by nearly 74% before later being restored. Now, local libraries and museums are expecting severely adverse impacts including reduced or eliminated statewide projects that provide programs or grant funding for library and museum services because of the March 14 executive order.

Bryan Zadalis, special assistant and public information officer to the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development’s Office of the Commissioner, told Homer News via email last Friday, March 28, that the Division of Libraries, Archives and Museums currently receives an annual Institute of Museum and Library Services Grants-to-States Award for statewide library services, which has averaged about $1.2 million for the past five years.

The Grants-to-States award program uses a population-based formula to distribute funding each year to State Library Administrative Agencies, which are the official agencies charged by law with the extension and development of library services, Zadalis wrote. The Alaska State Library is the administrative agency for Alaska.

“Grants-to-States projects must develop library services, have a statewide impact, and support the purposes and priorities outlined in the Library Services and Technology Act,” Zadalis wrote. “The SLAAs may use the funds to support statewide initiatives and services, and they may also distribute the funds through competitive subawards to, or cooperative agreements with, public, academic, research, school or special libraries or consortia.”

Funds distributed to the Alaska State Library for fiscal year 2025 were used to support early literacy and children’s services, the Statewide Alaska Summer Reading Program, the Alaska State Talking Book Center, Alaska Digital Archives and Digital Library Collection, the Alaska Library Catalog, the Statewide Library Electronic Doorway, Alaska Reads 2024, the annual statewide library conference, Battle of the Books, Interlibrary Loan services, the Alaska Library Extension Service and more.

Zadalis did not specifically note whether the Public Library Assistance grant was funded through the Institute of Museum and Library Services Grants-to-States award program.

“We have not received additional information on the potential impacts of the Executive Order to the IMLS Grants-to-States Award program,” he wrote.

Local programs at risk

On the southern Kenai Peninsula, local organizations have outlined the anticipated severe impacts to operations and programs should Institute of Museum and Library Services funding disappear.

Homer Public Library Director Dave Berry explained some of these impacts in a March 18 memorandum to the Homer City Council.

If the institute’s funding disappears completely, he wrote, “numerous statewide projects will feel the effects,” such as interlibrary loan service being curtailed, major reductions in new materials for the Alaska Digital Library, and the SLED databases canceling all commercial offerings, effective in December.

“Public programs will vanish, including Alaska Reads, Battle of the Books and the statewide summer reading program. Services to specific patron groups will be eliminated, particularly for blind patrons and those living in the bush,” Berry wrote in the memo.

On a local level, he wrote, the Homer Public Library does not receive direct funding from Institute of Museum and Library Services but has used past institute grants for installing outdoor Wi-Fi, upgrading the interior Wi-Fi network, purchasing hot spots, setting up the Little Free Libraries in city parks, training staff and purchasing materials.

“HPL patrons benefit from many statewide services which are partly or wholly funded by the IMLS,” he wrote in an email to Homer News on March 25. “If IMLS funding disappears completely, many online resources will be cancelled, purchases of new library materials will be reduced, and some services may be cut back.”

Berry also said that in the past, various federal agencies supported different projects around the library, including the construction of the current library building and, more recently, improvements on the western lot.

“We don’t have any current projects that depend on federal funding, but future improvements are likely on hold. Many HPL programs involve partnerships with community groups and organizations that depend on federal funding, so all these programs are at risk,” he wrote, noting the uncertainty of current circumstances, “so every part of this could change.”

Also in Homer, the Pratt Museum also faces “significant impact” to future programming due to the federal reductions to the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Co-executive Director Whitney Harness told Homer News via email on March 25 that due to past Institute of Museum and Library Services support, the museum has been able to offer new and renewed exhibits, programs and internships that have been “transformative for the community.”

One current Institute of Museum and Library Services grant-funded project includes programs and exhibits “crafted to encourage community engagement” with Alaska Native culture-bearers and “provide accessible programming for underserved families with children on the Kenai Peninsula.”

Harness wrote that Institute of Museum and Library Services funding has been “crucial” in supporting the Pratt Museum’s development of issue-oriented exhibits and programs, and that while currently scheduled museum programming will not be impacted by the federal reductions, “future funding, both directly from IMLS and indirectly through other organizations impacted, such as the Alaska State Museum and Museums Alaska, will most likely lead to lowered capacity to offer reduced or no-cost programs” at the Pratt.

“Our region faces rapid social, economic, cultural and environmental challenges that are changing how people here live and think about the future,” she wrote. “We want all of our stakeholders to feel represented and empowered to address the widespread changes facing them today, and support from the IMLS is vital to achieving this goal.”

Cindy Mom, director of the Seldovia Public Library, told Homer News on March 22 that the biggest impact to the library would likely be elimination or restriction of the Interlibrary Loan Program.

“We use this program a lot, because our collection is relatively small,” she said. “We have also used ILL to get Book Club Bags or individual books for Book Club.”

Mom also said that earlier in March, she completed a 10-hour course on leadership for small and rural libraries, as per the continuing education requirement through the Public Library Assistance grant program, for which tuition was paid using Institute of Museum and Library Services funds.

“We do not have a single person on our board and volunteer crew who has any kind of formal training, much less a degree, in library science,” she wrote. “So the opportunity to take continuing education is really important to us. I think most rural Alaska libraries are in a similar position.”

The Ninilchik Library also relies on statewide services funded by the museum and library institute, including the Interlibrary Loan program “weekly,” the Alaska Digital Library, SLED, Battle of the Books, Alaska Reads and the statewide summer reading program.

“Since we are a small community library that does not receive funding to cover our budget, having access to these services is extremely important to our community,” librarian Heather Smith wrote to Homer News on March 24. “Without these services, it will be very difficult to provide different things to our community.”

Smith also noted that with the loss of federal funding, other libraries and museums that rely on grants will have to find funding elsewhere.

“That will put more non-profits into the pool of fundraising, which will make it even harder for these small rural libraries to raise funds for operations,” she wrote.

In addition to Institute of Museum and Library Services defunding, a federal e-rate subsidy, established by Congress in the 1990s to help schools and libraries deliver internet access to students and the general public, is also currently under fire.

Administered by the Federal Communications Commission, e-rate is currently undergoing several court challenges and is facing elimination. If the subsidy is eliminated, local libraries including the Homer Public Library and the Seldovia Public Library will be impacted.

According to Berry, the Homer Public Library receives approximately $15,000 annually in e-rate funds, which covers 70% of the library’s internet bill. Sixty percent of the Seldovia library’s annual internet costs are covered by e-rate.

If the subsidy is eliminated, Berry wrote that the City of Homer would be “on the hook” for the $15,000 for Homer library’s internet costs. The remaining 30% of library’s annual internet costs are covered by the Alaska Online With Libraries program through the Alaska State Library, which also depends on federal funds.

The Homer City Council passed a resolution, sponsored by Mayor Rachel Lord, at their last regular meeting on Monday, March 24, endorsing the purpose of Institute of Museum and Library Services and urges officials at the local, state and national levels to maintain its current services.

“All civilized nations have long recognized that freedom of thought, inquiry and opinion requires unfettered access to the accumulated knowledge of society,” Resolution 25-024 states. “By their nature, museums and libraries exist to preserve that knowledge and promote the flourishing of all citizens.”

The council also passed Resolution 25-021, authorizing Homer library staff to apply for the FY2026 annual Public Library Assistance grant, which is expected to be $7,000.

Order extends beyond libraries

The March 14 order also calls for the elimination of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the United States Agency for Global Media, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in the Smithsonian Institution, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, and the Minority Business Development Agency.

These entities were required by March 21 to submit a report to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, confirming “full compliance” with this order and explaining which components of functions, “if any, are statutorily required and to what extent.”

The Trump administration also seeks to effectively cut off funding for each of the above entities. According to the executive order, the OMB director and heads of any executive department or agency charged with reviewing grant or budget requests “shall, to the extent consistent with applicable law and except insofar as necessary to effectuate an expected termination, reject funding requests for such governmental entities to the extent they are inconsistent with this order.”

Find the executive order, titled “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy,” in full at www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-orders/.

More information on the Institute of Museum and Library Services funding to Alaska, including grant programs other than the annual Grants-to-States award, can be found at www.imls.gov/grants/awarded-grants.

Find Homer City Council Resolution 25-024 and supplemental materials online at www.cityofhomer-ak.gov/citycouncil/city-council-regular-meeting-328.

The American Library Association is requesting library supporters to ask their Congress representatives to protect federal funding for IMLS. Learn more at bit.ly/CallCongressForLibraries or at ilovelibraries.org/.