Libraries across the United States have cut back on some digital services weeks after the Trump administration's move to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Maine has temporarily closed its state library and others across the country have paused their interlibrary loan programs.
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Suddenly it's in the newsRitual, symbol and a popemobile tour mark Pope Leo XIV's installation MassTrump dice que llamará a Putin, luego a Zelenskyy, el lunes para presionar por cese del fuegoBuque escuela mexicano choca con Puente de Brooklyn, rompiendo mástiles e hiriendo a marinerosU.S. NewsA sign announces the extended closure of the Maine State Library, Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Augusta, Maine. Spencer Davis, one of several librarians slated to be laid off due to DOGE cuts, works at the Maine State Library, Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Augusta, Maine. Chris Boynton, special services coordinator at the Maine State Library works in the library’s temporary location, Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Augusta, Maine. A sign announces the extended closure of the Maine State Library, Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Augusta, Maine. A sign announces the extended closure of the Maine State Library, Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Augusta, Maine. Spencer Davis, one of several librarians slated to be laid off due to DOGE cuts, works at the Maine State Library, Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Augusta, Maine. Spencer Davis, one of several librarians slated to be laid off due to DOGE cuts, works at the Maine State Library, Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Augusta, Maine. Chris Boynton, special services coordinator at the Maine State Library works in the library’s temporary location, Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Augusta, Maine. Chris Boynton, special services coordinator at the Maine State Library works in the library’s temporary location, Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Augusta, Maine. Libraries across the United States are cutting back on e-books, audiobooks and loan programs after the Trump administration suspended millions of dollars in federal grants as it tries to dissolve thefrom taking any further steps toward gutting the agency. But the unexpected slashing of grants has delivered a significant blow to many libraries, which are reshuffling budgets and looking at different ways to raise money. Maine has laid off a fifth of its staff and temporarily closed its state library after not receiving the remainder of its annual funding. Libraries in Mississippi have indefinitely stopped offering a popular e-book service, and the South Dakota state library has suspended its interlibrary loan program. “I think everyone should know the cost of providing digital sources is too expensive for most libraries,” said Cindy Hohl, president of the American Library Association. “It’s a continuous and growing need.”One month later, the Maine State Library announced it was issuing layoff notices for workers funded through an IMLS grant program. “It came as quite a surprise to all of us,” said Spencer Davis, a library generalist at the Maine State Library who is one of eight employees who were laid off May 8 because of the suspended funding. In April, California, Washington and Connecticut were the only three states to receive letters stating the remainder of their funding for the year was cancelled, Hohl said. For others, the money hasn’t been distributed yet. The three states all filed formal objections with the IMLS. Rebecca Wendt, California state library director, said she was never told why California’s funding was terminated while the other remaining states did not receive the same notice.Popular digital offerings on the chopping block Most libraries are funded by city and county governments, but receive a smaller portion of their budget from their state libraries, which receive federal dollars every year to help pay for summer reading programs, interlibrary loan services and digital books. Libraries in rural areas rely on federal grants more than those in cities. Many states use the funding to pay for e-books and audiobooks, which are increasingly popular, and costly, offerings. In 2023, more than 660 million people globally borrowed e-books, audiobooks and digital magazines, up from 19% in 2022, according to OverDrive, the main distributor of digital content for libraries and schools.For a few days, Erin Busbea was the bearer of bad news for readers at her Mississippi library: Hoopla, a popular app to check out e-books and audiobooks had been suspended indefinitely in Lowndes and DeSoto counties due to the funding freeze. “People have been calling and asking, ‘Why can’t I access my books on Hoopla?’” said Busbea, library director of the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library System in Columbus, a majority-Black city northeast of Jackson. The library system also had to pause parts of its interlibrary loan system allowing readers to borrow books from other states when they aren’t available locally. “For most libraries that were using federal dollars, they had to curtail those activities,” said Hulen Bivins, the Mississippi Library Commission executive director.The funding freeze came after the agency’s roughly 70 staff members were placed on administrative leave in March. Attorneys general in 21 states and the American Library Association have filed lawsuits against the Trump administration for seeking to dismantle the agency. The institute’s annual budget is below $300 million and distributes less than half of that to state libraries across the country. In California, the state library was notified that about 20%, or $3 million, of its $15 million grant had been terminated. “The small library systems are not able to pay for the e-books themselves,” said Wendt, the California state librarian. In South Dakota, the state’s interlibrary loan program is on hold, according to Nancy Van Der Weide, a spokesperson for the South Dakota Department of Education. The institute, founded in 1996 by a Republican-controlled Congress, also supports a national library training program named after former first lady Laura Bush that seeks to recruit and train librarians from diverse or underrepresented backgrounds. A spokesperson for Bush did not return a request seeking comment. “Library funding is never robust. It’s always a point of discussion. It’s always something you need to advocate for,” said Liz Doucett, library director at Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick, Maine. “It’s adding to just general anxiety.”The FBI is investigating the explosion at a California fertility clinic as an act of terrorism
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