The resistance begins to organize against decree n ° 14238, which orders the abolition of several agencies created by the Congress, including the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Created in 1996, this agency supports nearly 123,000 public, school and university libraries as well as 53,000 museums throughout the country. Its closure, announced last month, led to the loss of jobs for around 75 people on March 31.
California prosecutor Rob Bonta joined a coalition of 21 prosecutors to bring legal action against the Trump administration. Prosecutors believe that this measure is illegal and cannot be maintained.
In a press release, General Prosecutor Rob Bonta stressed that “The Trump administration once again raped the American Constitution and the rule of law by unilaterally closing agencies, including those which offer the public inexpensive or free access to knowledge and cultural heritage”. The complaint argues that the order of closing breaks a clause of the Constitution which reserves the power to allocate public funds to the congress.
The removal of the IMLS also aroused a reaction from the PinguiN random house publishing houses, Macmillan Publisher, Simon and Schuster and Hachette, who sent a common letter to the members of the Congress. In this letter, they oppose the closure of the IMLS and underline the importance of the agency to guarantee access to the books, the teaching materials and the resources necessary for the transmission of knowledge: “The closure of the IMLS would deprive millions of Americans from access to essential resources to fully participate in the modern world. It would be an act of negligence that would go against our democracy ”.
The American Library Association (ALA) also expressed his concern and asked that the IMLS continues to be funded and that the employees concerned be rehired.
In 2024, the IMLS distributed more than $ 267 million (around 245 million euros) from subsidies across the United States to support projects in the fields of cultural heritage, educational services and technology in libraries and museums. “The loss of these services would be particularly detrimental to low -income families, the elderly and veterans who depend on libraries. Measures of the Trump administration also threaten the subsidies that support the Museums of California, from the San Diego Zoo via the Autry Museum of the American West of Los Angeles “said prosecutor Rob Bonta.
Although the impact of Trump’s decree on future subsidies is uncertain, certain cities and certain states have started to publish the way in which their services are affected. For example, the Washington State Library (Washington State) has published a document describing the effects of budget cuts on state libraries. The consequences could be: less access to electronic books and audios, decrease in databases accessible to the public, jeopardizing libraries installed in penitentiary, hospital or indigenous communities. According to The Guardianwithout subsidy, around 200 tribal libraries could close their doors.
Andrea Malcomb, director of the Molly Brown House Museum in Denver told Denveritea media from the city of Denver (Colorado), that the removal of the Imls would have an impact on the archives. “The IMLS provides vital funding for museums across the country in order to carry out this archiving work and tell these stories”. The National World War I Museum and Memorial of Kansas City, which had received a subsidy of $ 250,000 (around 230,000 euros) from the IMLS last year, also informed the Fox4 media that its funding was pending.
