FAQ: Executive Order Targeting IMLS

This set of frequently asked questions is intended to help library workers, library advocates, and library users understand this Executive Order.
FAQ executive order targeting IMLS

Updated May 6, 2025

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UPDATE: On May 1, 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). The decision was issued in response to a lawsuit filed by the American Library Association (ALA) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), represented by Democracy Forward and Gair Gallo Eberhard LLP.

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On March 14, President Trump issued an Executive Order intended to dismantle the only federal agency dedicated to funding library services, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), as well as six other agencies. This set of frequently asked questions is intended to help library workers, library advocates, and library users understand this Executive Order.

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What does this Executive Order do?

Executive Order 14238 directs that seven agencies, including the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), be eliminated to the maximum extent of the law and the agencies are ordered to reduce their services and personnel to the minimum amount required to perform the functions required by law.

The announcement also orders the federal budget agency, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to reject any budget requests from IMLS (and the other six named agencies) other than funds needed to shut down the agency.

What is ALA doing?

The American Library Association is fighting for IMLS to be preserved and to continue supporting our nation’s 125,000 public, school, academic, and special libraries.

Our policy and advocacy team in Washington DC is working with partners and library supporters across the country to advocate for IMLS.

On April 6, ALA and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees filed a federal lawsuit, and on April 10, a motion for a preliminary injunction (PDF) to stop the dismantling of IMLS.

Additionally, ALA leaders are raising awareness in the media of the devastating impact that eliminating IMLS will have on communities. ALA is also working with chapters to engage members of Congress in their state and to educate their elected officials on the impact of federal dollars to libraries on their constituents. Finally, we are mobilizing our members and library lovers everywhere to contact their members of Congress, and to make their voices heard.

What can I do?

We need every library supporter to show up and make their voices heard. Here are concrete, effective actions you can take now:

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Is IMLS being eliminated?

The clear intent of the Executive Order, as stated in the language of the order, is to eliminate IMLS. Since the Executive Order was issued, the Administration has taken several steps to dismantle IMLS. This includes:

  • Terminating grants.
  • Terminating contracts.
  • Appointing Acting Director Kevin Sonderling, who stated that he will act "in lockstep" with the Administration.
  • Reportedly putting all but 12 of the agency's staff of approximately 75 employees on paid administrative leave and sending staff a notice of an agency-wide reduction in force to take place May 4.

In addition, the order directs OMB to reject funding requests from IMLS “except insofar as necessary to effectuate an expected termination” of the agency.

On May 2, President Trump’s FY26 budget request proposed to eliminate IMLS. The President’s budget request has no legal effect, but it proposes funding levels for Congress to consider when it writes annual government funding (“appropriations”) bills. The Trump Administration proposed eliminating IMLS in all four years of his previous term, and Congress rejected those proposals at the time. ALA is calling on Congress to do so again and to protect funding for IMLS. ALA urges library supporters to contact their Congressmembers in support of IMLS funding.

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What statutes apply to IMLS?

The Museum and Library Services Act (MLSA) is the law that established IMLS. MLSA codifies the agency’s programs under the Library Services & Technology Act (LSTA) and the Museum Services Act, as well as other agency activities like data collection and the National Museum and Library Services Board. MLSA was first enacted in 1996 and has been reauthorized on a bipartisan basis several times since then – most recently in 2018, which was signed into law by President Trump.

Appropriations laws also apply to IMLS. Congress provides funding to IMLS annually through appropriations laws, most recently in the law enacted on March 15, 2025. These laws direct federal agencies to spend the appropriated funding to carry out the specified programs and activities, and sometimes provide further directions to the agencies.

Additionally, some provisions of law apply across all or several federal agencies, including IMLS. For instance, all executive agencies are required to comply with and implement the Freedom of Information Act. In addition, all federally funded education programs (which is considered to include libraries and museums) must comply with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

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What can I do if my library's federal funding is terminated?

Beginning in early April, IMLS began sending termination notices to numerous grantees.

ALA is responding to these politically-motivated attacks on library funding with public advocacy and litigation. In addition, to support affected grantees, ALA offers the following tips.

What does this mean for grants to libraries?

Beginning in early April, IMLS began sending termination notices to numerous grantees. It is unclear how many IMLS grants remain open, and if or when IMLS intends to terminate any remaining grants.

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Do IMLS grantees still need to comply with termination notices if they were received before the May 1 temporary restraining order was issued?

ALA recommends that all grantees consult with their legal counsel related to their specific grants. ALA cannot provide legal advice.

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How can I find out what IMLS funds in my state?

IMLS funds a wide range of grants, research, and convenings to advance library programs and services. On the ALA Fund Libraries campaign page, you can download one-pagers with your state’s LSTA funding history and library facts.

In addition, the IMLS website provides information about:

  • Awarded grants
  • Activities undertaken by state library agencies supported by the LSTA Grants to States program

You can find information on awarded grants on the IMLS website at https://www.imls.gov/grants/awarded-grants.

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But didn’t Congress just fund IMLS?

On March 14, 2025, the Senate passed and the president signed a continuing resolution for fiscal year 2025, which provides funding for IMLS through September 2025.

Although this continuing resolution provides funding for IMLS, President Trump has instead directed the agency’s elimination all on the same day. This Executive Order usurps the intent of Congress’s decision to provide funding for IMLS, which President Trump agreed to in signing that law.

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What will happen to the IMLS staff?

Reportedly, all but 12 of the agency's staff of approximately 75 employees have been put on paid administrative leave and received notice of an agency-wide reduction in force to take place May 4, 2025.

UPDATE: On May 1, Judge Richard J. Leon issued a temporary restraining order that the Administration shall not terminate the employment of any IMLS staff or place any additional IMLS staff on administrative leave.

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What does this mean for libraries?

The intent to undercut and eliminate the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is extremely shortsighted and perilous for the millions of Americans who rely on our public, school, academic, and special libraries. Library funding draws less than 0.003% of the annual federal budget yet has enormous impact in communities nationwide. From technology classes for jobseekers to services for people with disabilities, from library delivery for older Americans to summer reading programs for families, IMLS funding makes a real, concrete difference in the lives of Americans every day. The president’s executive order puts all of those services at risk.

Some examples of library services commonly funded through IMLS grants:

  • Talking Books and Braille Library services
  • Inter-library loan
  • Access to databases for all levels and types of education, including databases used by medical schools, K-12 schools, and homeschoolers.
  • Bookmobiles
  • Literacy programs
  • Small-business and entrepreneurship programs

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How can the executive order be stopped or limited?

  • The March 14 executive order could be stopped or limited in the following ways:
  • Congress could enact a law that overrides the president’s action.
  • A court can overturn provisions of the executive order, or actions taken to implement the executive order, that it finds to violate the Constitution or a federal law.
  • President Trump, or a future president, could rescind or modify the executive order, or direct that it be interpreted in ways that reduce the disruption of IMLS’s activities and programs.

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What is the ALA doing in court?

  • On May 1, 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). The decision was issued in response to a lawsuit filed by the American Library Association (ALA) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), represented by Democracy Forward and Gair Gallo Eberhard LLP.
    On April 10, the ALA and AFSCME the coalition filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit that was initiated on behalf of ALA and AFSCME by Democracy Forward and co-counsel Gair Gallo Eberhard LLP. The motion asks the court to stop the dismantling of the IMLS as directed by a Trump executive order while the case is considered by the court.
  • On April 7, 2025, ALA and AFSCME asked a federal judge to halt the Trump administration’s gutting of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) – a non-partisan and independent agency dedicated to supporting and funding libraries and museums and the crucial community services they provide in every state across the country.
  • For updates, please sign up for our advocacy alerts. And for more details, please visit our IMLS lawsuit page.

Isn't there another legal case related to IMLS, too?

Yes, 21 state attorneys general filed suit on April 4 in a separate action to restore IMLS. On May 6, Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island found that “a preliminary injunction is appropriate and necessary” and denied the defendants’ request to stay the order. Combined with the May 1 temporary restraining order issued in the ALA v. Sonderling case, two separate federal courts have now found that the Administration’s actions to dismantle IMLS are likely illegal and must be stopped.