President Donald Trump appointed Keith E. Sonderling as the new acting director the Institute of Museum and Library Services on March 20. The agency now faces the threat of massive cuts after Trump issued an executive order the previous week calling for IMLS and six other departments to be “eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.”
The March 14 executive order comes as the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency — headed by billionaire Elon Musk — has revoked government grants and funding, laid off thousands of federal workers and slashed diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across national departments.
“I am committed to steering this organization in lockstep with this Administration to enhance efficiency and foster innovation,” says Sonderling in a statement. “We will revitalize IMLS and restore focus on patriotism, ensuring we preserve our country’s core values, promote American exceptionalism and cultivate love of country in future generations.”
The Tennessee State Library & Archives, which is headquartered in downtown Nashville and helps fund hundreds of libraries across the state, receives about $3.7 million from IMLS annually, according to Doug Kufner, a spokesperson for the office of the Tennessee Secretary of State. Kufner says funding is authorized by law through IMLS’ Grant to States program, supported by the Library Services and Technology Act.
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“We are hopeful this program will continue as it’s statutorily authorized and funded,” Kufner tells the Scene via email. “If IMLS funding were to be diminished or eliminated, we would work collectively with librarians, library trustees and communities to identify the most important library services we could continue to offer within the budget we have allocated.”
Kufner says funding is used to purchase material for public libraries in the Tennessee Regional Library System, provide professional development and continuing education opportunities for library employees, fund resources in the Tennessee Electronic Library and provide grants to libraries to replace outdated technology.
The Nashville Public Library and its various branches would likely be less impacted by the executive order due to it being a department of Metro Nashville and largely funded directly by local tax dollars. Still, NPL typically receives more than $1 million in state and federal grants. “While NPL is aware of this executive order, we don’t yet know at this time what the impacts to the library could be,” library spokesperson Andrea Fanta tells the Scene. “We continue to monitor this development.”
The nonprofit American Library Association opposed Trump’s executive order in a statement released on March 15.
“Americans have loved and relied on public, school and academic libraries for generations,” the statement reads. “By eliminating the only federal agency dedicated to funding library services, the Trump administration’s executive order is cutting off at the knees the most beloved and trusted of American institutions and the staff and services they offer.”
IMLS was created in 1996 by a majority-Republican U.S. Congress, merging the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science and the Institute of Museum Services. Trump made several attempts to dismantle IMLS during his first term, but those efforts were ultimately blocked by Congress.
