President Donald Trump's move to mark a certain lesser-known federal agency for deep cuts or elimination would be a disaster for libraries and museums, reported Bloomberg News on Friday — particularly those in rural areas.
The administration, under the advice of tech billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency task force, has already targeted a number of more prominent agencies for sharp cuts with potentially disastrous consequences, ranging from Medicaid to food bank assistance — but the president is not done taking an ax to federal services.
A new executive order issued by the president "lists the Institute of Museum and Library Services as one of several “unnecessary” agencies for review, with the explicit goal of cutting both operations and staffing in the name of government efficiency. Other agencies include those that support anti-homelessness, minority businesses and global media groups like Voice of America," noted the report, which added that "Rural libraries are more likely to depend on federal dollars to subsidize their budgets or on programs that extend the reach of information to their communities."
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The American Library Association responded with an urgent statement that this move is “cutting off at the knees the most beloved and trusted of American institutions,” and warned that “those who will feel that loss most keenly live in rural communities.”
Libraries are a lifeline for lower-income people, who not only use them for reading and borrowing books, but also gaining access to the internet, with some libraries also offering services ranging from adult literacy classes, to online high school diploma programs, to homework assistance.
"On Thursday morning, Keith Sonderling — who was recently confirmed as Trump’s Deputy Secretary of Labor — was sworn in as the acting director of IMLS at the lobby of the agency’s office in Washington, DC, accompanied by a security team and staff members from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency," noted the report. "Sonderling met with the agency leadership but did not interact with rank-and-file staffers, according to a statement sent to Bloomberg from AFGE Local 3403, the union representing IMLS staff." The union added that Sonderling acknowledged the "importance" of libraries and museums in an email to staff, but that their employment status remains uncertain and many expect to be put on administrative leave.
