DoomsdaysCW<p>So yeah. This REALLY pisses me off! I have friends who work for the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MaineStateLibrary" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MaineStateLibrary</span></a>. Grrrrr.... </p><p>Maine State Library issues layoffs, cites inability to access federal funding<br>The Maine State Library announced Wednesday 13 staff members, whose positions are supported by federal funding, were laid off.</p><p>April 9, 2025 </p><p>"The Maine State Library announced layoffs on Wednesday, citing an ongoing inability to access federal funding. </p><p>"The announcement comes after President Donald <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Trump</span></a> signed an executive order in March deeming the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) 'unnecessary' and slated to be dismantled, later placing the entire agency's staff on administrative leave. </p><p>"The Maine State Library said in a news release that IMLS funding represents 30 percent of its annual budget and has not received any communication from IMLS on if or when funding might be restored. </p><p>"The state library said it last received funds from its 2025 federal award advance through the IMLS on March 24. </p><p>"Thirteen employees whose positions are supported by federal funding have been laid off, the state library said. Those employees represent approximately 30 percent of Maine State Library staff. </p><p>"The Maine State Library said the layoffs could be rescinded if funding is restored. </p><p>"Starting on Thursday, the Maine State Library will close for a two-week reorganization period where its location at 242 State St. in Augusta will not be open to the public. </p><p>"'Losing access to this Federal funding harms Maine residents and will have negative consequences in communities across the state," Maine State Librarian <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LoriFisher" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>LoriFisher</span></a> said in the release. 'Despite these significant cuts, the Maine State Library remains committed to advancing the mission of libraries in Maine and to serving every library patron to the best of our ability.'</p><p>"In 2024, the Maine State Library says it received $1,526,754 from the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/IMLS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>IMLS</span></a> Library Services and Technology Act Grants to States program which supports services including <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HighSpeedInternet" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>HighSpeedInternet</span></a> for public libraries; <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/InterlibraryLoans" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>InterlibraryLoans</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EBooks" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>EBooks</span></a>, and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/audiobooks" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>audiobooks</span></a>; services for <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/VisuallyImpaired" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>VisuallyImpaired</span></a> patrons; and professional development for library staff. </p><p>"The library says it is continuing to evaluate the range of impacts on library services from the funding cuts and hopes to provide further updates as they become available. </p><p>"Following Trump's executive order, Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey joined 20 other attorneys general in a lawsuit to stop the Trump administration from dismantling a handful of agencies, including the IMLS."</p><p>Read more:<br><a href="https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/maine-state-library-issues-layoffs-inability-access-federal-funding/97-3adb5f7f-a6c1-42fe-a519-dc849384dd99" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">newscentermaine.com/article/ne</span><span class="invisible">ws/local/maine-state-library-issues-layoffs-inability-access-federal-funding/97-3adb5f7f-a6c1-42fe-a519-dc849384dd99</span></a></p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Libraries" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Libraries</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LibrariesRule" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>LibrariesRule</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LibraryOfThings" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>LibraryOfThings</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BannedBooks" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>BannedBooks</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CommunitySpaces" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CommunitySpaces</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CentersOfLearning" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CentersOfLearning</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SeedLibraries" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SeedLibraries</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Knowledge" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Knowledge</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CharacteristicsOfFascism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CharacteristicsOfFascism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TrumpIsABully" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TrumpIsABully</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FundLibrariesNotSpaceX" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>FundLibrariesNotSpaceX</span></a></p>
Recent searches
No recent searches
Search options
Only available when logged in.
toad.social is one of the many independent Mastodon servers you can use to participate in the fediverse.
Mastodon server operated by David Troy, a tech pioneer and investigative journalist addressing threats to democracy. Thoughtful participation and discussion welcome.
Administered by:
Server stats:
380active users
toad.social: About · Profiles directory · Privacy policy
Mastodon: About · Get the app · Keyboard shortcuts · View source code · v4.3.7
#imls
15 posts · 13 participants · 0 posts today
infoDOCKET<p>New <a href="https://newsie.social/tags/Lawsuit" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Lawsuit</span></a>: American Library Association (ALA), AFSCME Challenge Trump Administration Gutting of Institute of Museum and Library Services <a href="https://www.infodocket.com/2025/04/08/new-lawsuit-american-library-association-ala-afscme-challenge-trump-administration-gutting-of-institute-of-museum-and-library-services/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">infodocket.com/2025/04/08/new-</span><span class="invisible">lawsuit-american-library-association-ala-afscme-challenge-trump-administration-gutting-of-institute-of-museum-and-library-services/</span></a> <a href="https://newsie.social/tags/libraries" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>libraries</span></a> <a href="https://newsie.social/tags/IMLS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>IMLS</span></a></p>
We the People...<p>From the autocrat playbook, they first attack the libraries. <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/IMLS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>IMLS</span></a> staff has been entirely put to pasture by DOGE. </p><p><a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/03/31/nx-s1-5334415/doge-institute-of-museum-and-library-services" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">npr.org/2025/03/31/nx-s1-53344</span><span class="invisible">15/doge-institute-of-museum-and-library-services</span></a></p><p><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/bookbind" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>bookbind</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/libraries" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>libraries</span></a></p>
infoDOCKET<p>New on the <a href="https://newsie.social/tags/IMLS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>IMLS</span></a> News/Statement Roundup: "<a href="https://newsie.social/tags/COSLA" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>COSLA</span></a> (Chief Officers of State Library Agencies) Requests Clarification from IMLS Acting Director Keith Sonderling" <a href="https://www.infodocket.com/2025/03/17/roundup-statements-in-response-to-executive-order-impacting-the-institute-of-museum-and-library-services-imls/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">infodocket.com/2025/03/17/roun</span><span class="invisible">dup-statements-in-response-to-executive-order-impacting-the-institute-of-museum-and-library-services-imls/</span></a> <a href="https://newsie.social/tags/libraries" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>libraries</span></a></p>
Regina Kammer<p>Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster, and Sourcebooks are advocating for libraries in response to the March 14 executive order dismantling the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).<br><a href="https://global.penguinrandomhouse.com/announcements/publishers-send-letter-to-congress-advocating-for-libraries-imls-funding/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">global.penguinrandomhouse.com/</span><span class="invisible">announcements/publishers-send-letter-to-congress-advocating-for-libraries-imls-funding/</span></a><br><a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/Publishers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Publishers</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/Publishing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Publishing</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/Libraries" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Libraries</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/EndFascism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>EndFascism</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/IMLS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>IMLS</span></a></p>
Tom Baker<p><a class="hashtag" href="https://bsky.app/search?q=%23IMLS" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#IMLS</a> <a class="hashtag" href="https://bsky.app/search?q=%23Libraries" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Libraries</a> <a class="hashtag" href="https://bsky.app/search?q=%23Trump" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Trump</a> <a class="hashtag" href="https://bsky.app/search?q=%23MAGA" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MAGA</a> <a class="hashtag" href="https://bsky.app/search?q=%23DOGE" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#DOGE</a>
<a href="https://romancelandia.club/@herhandsmyhands/114291626051908772" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">romancelandia.club/@herhandsmyh...</a><br><br><a href="https://romancelandia.club/@herhandsmyhands/114291626051908772" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">azteclady (@herhandsmyhands@ro...</a></p>
azteclady<p><a href="https://romancelandia.club/tags/romancelandia" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>romancelandia</span></a> <span class="h-card"><a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/romancelandia" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>romancelandia</span></a></span> <span class="h-card"><a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/bookstodon" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>bookstodon</span></a></span> </p><p>Four of the Big Five publishers appeal for the restoration of IMLS--because whatever they say, they know how much money they get from libraries.</p><p>Notable: Murdoch owned Harper Collins *did not* sign.</p><p>ETA: as genre romance historian Steve Ammidown notes: Harper Collins is THE largest publisher of genre romance through its various imprints and lines. This affects OUR community directly. HC authors: call them</p><p><a href="https://romancelandia.club/tags/IMLS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>IMLS</span></a> <a href="https://romancelandia.club/tags/Libraries" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Libraries</span></a> </p><p><a href="https://www.wordsandmoney.com/four-of-the-big-five-publishers-sign-letter-urging-congress-to-restore-imls/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">wordsandmoney.com/four-of-the-</span><span class="invisible">big-five-publishers-sign-letter-urging-congress-to-restore-imls/</span></a></p>
Bernadette A. Lear<p>Heard from a colleague who is a current member of <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/IMLS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>IMLS</span></a> 's advisory board that the entire board has been "released" (fired) and that all IMLS staff have received <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/reductioninforce" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>reductioninforce</span></a> notices. Their last day of work will be in early May. I don't know what that means for IMLS-funded positions and projects at the state level, but it doesn't look good. You know you're governed by an <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/idiocracy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>idiocracy</span></a> when its leaders zero-out <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/libraries" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>libraries</span></a> and <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/museums" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>museums</span></a>.</p>
Ramesh #NotGoingBack<p><a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Chicago" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Chicago</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/HandsOff" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>HandsOff</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Protests" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Protests</span></a> </p><p><a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/AlarmBells" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>AlarmBells</span></a> are going off in a sign that says "No! No! No! No!" and nothing else.</p><p>One sign says "<a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Impeach" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Impeach</span></a> the <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/FelonInChief" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>FelonInChief</span></a>" </p><p>"This is a <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/MoralMoment" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MoralMoment</span></a>. It's. not <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Left" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Left</span></a> or <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Right" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Right</span></a>, but Right or Wrong" — <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/CoryBooker" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CoryBooker</span></a> </p><p>Someone with a <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/NationalParkService" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>NationalParkService</span></a> decal says "I Wish <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Trump</span></a> Would Pet a Bison" — very creative!</p><p>Then there's the <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/DumpTrump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>DumpTrump</span></a> sign.</p><p>In the back there's "Free Books, Free Minds, Support <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/IMLS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>IMLS</span></a> & Your Local <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Library" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Library</span></a>. …<a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/DOGE" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>DOGE</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/SHANKKK" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SHANKKK</span></a>" </p><p>"Hands Off <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/NATO" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>NATO</span></a>"</p>
Joyce Bell :mastodon: 🇺🇦🇨🇦<p>DOGE has decimated the Institute of Museum and Library Services <a href="https://mas.to/tags/libraries" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>libraries</span></a> <a href="https://mas.to/tags/museums" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>museums</span></a> <a href="https://mas.to/tags/doge" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>doge</span></a> <a href="https://mas.to/tags/IMLS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>IMLS</span></a> <a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/doge-decimates-institute-museum-library-services-imls-2626543" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">news.artnet.com/art-world/doge</span><span class="invisible">-decimates-institute-museum-library-services-imls-2626543</span></a></p>
AnneArchy Anne<p><a href="https://glammr.us/tags/IMLS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>IMLS</span></a> <a href="https://glammr.us/tags/Libraries" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Libraries</span></a> <a href="https://glammr.us/tags/TribalLibraries" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TribalLibraries</span></a></p><p><a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2025/04/04/tribal-libraries-may-lose-funding-as-trump-dismantles-small-agency/82574884007/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">azcentral.com/story/news/local</span><span class="invisible">/arizona/2025/04/04/tribal-libraries-may-lose-funding-as-trump-dismantles-small-agency/82574884007/</span></a></p>
infoDOCKET<p>NEW: News Roundup, Statements, Resources: Lawsuit Filed Over Cuts to <a href="https://newsie.social/tags/IMLS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>IMLS</span></a>, Federal Agencies <a href="https://www.infodocket.com/2025/04/04/news-roundup-resources-lawsuit-filed-over-cuts-to-imls-federal-agencies/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">infodocket.com/2025/04/04/news</span><span class="invisible">-roundup-resources-lawsuit-filed-over-cuts-to-imls-federal-agencies/</span></a> <a href="https://newsie.social/tags/libraries" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>libraries</span></a> <a href="https://newsie.social/tags/lawsuits" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>lawsuits</span></a> <a href="https://newsie.social/tags/legal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>legal</span></a></p>
Registrar Trek<p>We are collecting things that can be done in the lights of <a href="https://glammr.us/tags/IMLS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>IMLS</span></a> and <a href="https://glammr.us/tags/NEH" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>NEH</span></a> being shut down. In short: Focus on what you CAN do, not on what you CAN'T do. <br><a href="https://glammr.us/tags/museums" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>museums</span></a> <a href="https://glammr.us/tags/EmergencyPreparedness" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>EmergencyPreparedness</span></a> <a href="https://glammr.us/tags/contingency" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>contingency</span></a> <a href="https://glammr.us/tags/museum" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>museum</span></a> <a href="https://glammr.us/tags/fundingcuts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>fundingcuts</span></a> <a href="https://glammr.us/tags/grants" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>grants</span></a> <a href="https://glammr.us/tags/resilience" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>resilience</span></a> <br><a href="https://world.museumsprojekte.de/focus-on-what-you-can-do-not-what-you-cant/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">world.museumsprojekte.de/focus</span><span class="invisible">-on-what-you-can-do-not-what-you-cant/</span></a></p>
Melissa<p>AND 4 of the big five publishers sign letter urging Congress to restore <a href="https://mastodon.ie/tags/imls" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>imls</span></a></p><p>..."Notably, HarperCollins, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.<br>was the only Big Five publisher not to sign the letter. As of this<br>writing, HarperCollins reps have yet to respond to a request for comment."</p><p><a href="https://www.wordsandmoney.com/four-of-the-big-five-publishers-sign-letter-urging-congress-to-restore-imls/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">wordsandmoney.com/four-of-the-</span><span class="invisible">big-five-publishers-sign-letter-urging-congress-to-restore-imls/</span></a></p>
infoDOCKET<p>Lawsuit Filed Over Cuts to <a href="https://newsie.social/tags/IMLS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>IMLS</span></a>, Federal Agencies <a href="https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/twenty-ags-file-lawsuit" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">libraryjournal.com/story/twent</span><span class="invisible">y-ags-file-lawsuit</span></a> <a href="https://newsie.social/tags/libraries" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>libraries</span></a></p>
John Mark Ockerbloom<p>Today, "Attorneys general from 20 states filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration to stop the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) as well as the Minority Business Development Agency and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service." Library Journal story: <a href="https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/twenty-ags-file-lawsuit" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">libraryjournal.com/story/twent</span><span class="invisible">y-ags-file-lawsuit</span></a> Text of the complaint: <a href="https://www.njoag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/2025-0404_IMLS-Filing.pdf" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">njoag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2</span><span class="invisible">025/04/2025-0404_IMLS-Filing.pdf</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/uspol" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>uspol</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/libraries" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>libraries</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/imls" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>imls</span></a></p>
Melissa<p>20 AGs file suit re <a href="https://mastodon.ie/tags/imls" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>imls</span></a> <br><a href="https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/twenty-ags-file-lawsuit" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">libraryjournal.com/story/twent</span><span class="invisible">y-ags-file-lawsuit</span></a></p>
Becky Yoose<p>California library friends! I (accidentally) made an infographic for anyone who wants to share online or print out flyers for their local <a href="https://glammr.us/tags/handsoff" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>handsoff</span></a> protest. </p><p>Distribute far, distribute wide :boost_ok: </p><p>Learn more about LSTA funding at <a href="https://www.cla-net.org/page/8889" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="">cla-net.org/page/8889</span><span class="invisible"></span></a></p><p>Take action at <a href="https://saveimls.org" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="">saveimls.org</span><span class="invisible"></span></a></p><p><a href="https://glammr.us/tags/IMLS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>IMLS</span></a> <a href="https://glammr.us/tags/LSTA" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>LSTA</span></a> <a href="https://glammr.us/tags/California" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>California</span></a> <a href="https://glammr.us/tags/Libraries" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Libraries</span></a></p>
RegistrarTrek<p><strong>Focus on what you CAN do, not what you CAN’T</strong></p><p>In these past few weeks it seems that there were so many horrible things happening that just making a list of them feels overwhelming and exhausting. Some of the decisions of the current U.S. government have an impact on the global level, others hit people personally, some of whom are close friends. And then, there are those who seem to target the very core of our profession, like the shutting down of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the termination of grants already awarded by the National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH).</p><a href="https://world.museumsprojekte.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/ninja-155848_640.png" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a><p>It is hard not to lose all hope in this climate. And yet, aren’t we, as museum professionals, used to things not really looking pretty? Haven’t we battled budget and staff cuts before? Haven’t we brought uncomfortable truths in front of the eyes of our visitors and politicians before? Maybe the current crisis is not comparable to what we were confronted with before. But just as well, we are well trained in going against adversarial circumstances.</p><p>We have always done so with resilience, creativity, and, most of all, a sense of community. We might be spread out across the world and we might have spread ourselves thin by taking on too many responsibilities, but we are not alone. I have reached out to my network over the past few days to check in on some people, see how they are coping, and getting ideas of what can be done, because, in the end, focusing on what can’t be done never made anything better.</p><p>Turns out that John E. Simmons had already started collecting what can be done to prepare for what is coming at us in something we registrars love: A list. </p><p>I contributed a few of my thoughts to it and we also asked some more colleagues to add to it. What I am posting here today is by no means a comprehensive and finalized list of what to think about and what to do, but it is a start. Feel free to add more ideas in the comments section, just like we enhance it going forward.</p><p><strong><strong>What Can We Do?</strong></strong></p><p><strong>1. <strong>Apply the lessons that museums learned from Covid</strong></strong></p><ul><li>A museum should have a plan for suddenly shutting down or having to reduce staff for a prolonged long period of time.</li><li>The plan should include cross-training for all staff so that a reduced staff can keep the institution functioning and care for the collections. Every staff member should be trained to do tasks that are normally not part of their duties so that they can help in the event of a prolonged emergency.</li><li>The plan should include what the museum can do to remain a destination for visitors during a crisis. This might include regulating the number of visitors in the museum at the any one time during a pandemic, reducing or eliminating admission fees for visitors during a prolonged financial crisis, and how responsibilities could be handled by a reduced staff. It is worth noting that a recent study revealed that art museums that charge admission spend an average of $100 per visitor but attract smaller audiences than free museums, and that there are costs associated with collecting admission fees that may not be recovered by the fee. Details can be found at <a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/us-museums-visitors-report-2622358" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://news.artnet.com/art-world/us-museums-visitors-report-2622358</a>).</li></ul><p><strong>2. <strong>Prepare the collections for long-term, low maintenance storage</strong> by preparing the most sustainable and passive storage environment possible:</strong></p><ul><li>Improve the effectiveness of the collection storage furniture, containers, and supports to protect the collections (e.g., replace gaskets on doors, eliminate acidic materials, reduce lighting and UV in storage).</li><li>Keep the collection in order (each object in its proper place in storage) at all times (do not allow a backlog of out-of-place objects to build up).</li><li>Improve environmental controls and environmental monitoring procedures.</li><li>Maintain storage environment equipment in good order (e.g. replace filters, service equipment regularly, replace aging HVAC systems).</li></ul><p><strong>3. <strong>Protect the databases</strong></strong></p><ul><li>Make sure that you have a fully up-to-date, readable copy of all important museum databases stored somewhere outside of the building, preferably in a hard format as well as electronic.</li><li>Make sure that both on-site and off-site databases are protected so they cannot be accessed by unauthorized personnel. Renew passwords and other project on a frequent, regular basis.</li><li>If the institution is forced to close, and you have a good backup copy, consider removing databases from the museum servers to protect confidential information.</li><li>When possible look into storing backup copies of your databases that are not only readable in a proprietary format of one vendor (who might be forced to hand your sensitive data over or might go out of business). If you database allows for it, export your important data as SQL tables or as comma separated values (.csv). Excel formats such as xlsx, xls, or ods are fine, too.</li><li>When possible move your sensitive data to trusted servers outside the U.S. that don’t belong to U.S. based companies who might be forced to hand your sensitive data over or delete your data. (This one is of course controversial, but at this point I wouldn’t trust AWS for example)</li><li>As a rule of thumb: make access to your data for your trusted staff as easy as possible, but make deleting data from your database hard by setting up a robust rights management and whenever possible enable procedures to revert to earlier data entry points.</li></ul><p><strong>4. <strong>Update the institutional emergency preparedness plan</strong> to include procedures for coping with sudden, prolonged shutdowns of the building.</strong></p><p><strong><strong>5. Stock up on critical supplies</strong></strong></p><p><strong>6. <strong>Download anything needed from federal websites</strong> (such as the NPS Museum Handbook and Conserve O Grams or IMLS reports) immediately, while the information is still available. Store this data in a safe place that is only accessible to authorized personnel and make deleting those resources as hard as possible.</strong></p><p><strong>7. <strong>Keep in mind that most serious problem going forward will probably not be the cuts in federal funding</strong> to the NIH, NEA, NSF, IMLS, etc., because most of this money goes to projects which can be postponed or funded by other sources (such as donations). The most serious problem will be the lack of funds resulting from damage done to the economy due to a combination of the rising deficit, increasing unemployment (e.g., the mass reductions in the federal workforce and corresponding loss of jobs in sectors that serve the federal workforce), and decreased tax revenues due to tax cuts for the wealthy, tariffs on imports, and cuts to social services. In other words, the predicted problems with the US economy are far more likely to be a bigger problem for museums than the loss of federal grant funds.</strong></p><p><strong><strong>Words of Cheer:</strong></strong></p><ul><li>Museums existed long before the IMLS and other federal granting agencies, so they can survive this period, although many worthy projects and much research will be halted unless alternative funding can be found.</li><li>With preparation, museums can survive the coming crisis as they have survived other crises. There will be staff reductions and loss of opportunities, but with any luck, the situation will change within a few years.</li><li>Take a good look at your policies and procedures and investigate new laws and executive orders you are confronted with. Laws that are passed in a great hurry often contain contradictions and loopholes. Often asking for clarifications by authorities can slow processes down and work to your advantage. Often stalling a process in good faith can be much more effective than open opposition which puts you and your staff at risk.</li><li>Be prepared to be patient. Lawsuits and judicial decisions challenging the proposed changes will take time to go through the courts.</li><li>In the longer term, climate change and its effects on museum operations, the economy, and the behavior of the public is the greatest challenge to the future of museums, so the present crisis should be used to prepare for the future.</li></ul><p><strong><strong>Best Advice:</strong></strong></p><p>If your institution does not have a plan for long-term survival during a financial crisis, the next pandemic, or climate change, get busy now to correct this deficit.</p><p><strong><strong>Helpful Information</strong></strong></p><ul><li>Learnings museums made from the Covid-19 pandemic, <a href="https://www.ne-mo.org/news-events/article/learnings-museums-made-from-the-covid-19-pandemic" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.ne-mo.org/news-events/article/learnings-museums-made-from-the-covid-19-pandemic</a></li></ul><ul><li>PEAS Resource Library (Promoting Exhibit Access and Safety), <a href="https://ncp.si.edu/PRICE-PEAS" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://ncp.si.edu/PRICE-PEAS</a></li></ul><ul><li>Snider, Julianne. 2024. The Wheel is Already Invented: Planning for the Next Crisis. <em>Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals</em> 20(2):347-359, DOI: 10.1177/15501906241232309</li></ul><ul><li>Living in a Wild Future (Center for the Future of Museums blog), <a href="https://www.aam-us.org/2025/03/04/living-in-a-wild-future/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.aam-us.org/2025/03/04/living-in-a-wild-future/</a></li></ul><ul><li>Decrease in Public Funding? A Worldwide Answer from Museums (ICOM), <a href="https://icom.museum/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IRAPFM-A4-Format_FINAL.pdf" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://icom.museum/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IRAPFM-A4-Format_FINAL.pdf</a></li></ul><ul><li>Susana Smith Bautista (2021)—<em>How to Close a Museum. A Practical Guide</em> (Rowman & Littlefield)</li></ul><ul><li>Christopher J. Garthe (2023)—<em>The Sustainable Museum. How Museums Contribute to the Great Transformation</em> (Routledge)</li></ul><p><strong>Some more notes</strong></p><p>Share this resource freely with anyone you think needs to see this, no need to ask for permission. Add what applies to your special case. Let us know what we should add. Download, save, print, circulate.</p><p><a href="https://world.museumsprojekte.de/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/WhatCanWeDo.pdf" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Download List as PDF</a></p><p>Registrar Trek is hosted on a server in Germany and following EU laws. I am currently looking through all the plug-ins I use to make sure none of them collects and shares any personal data with the U.S. Or, in fact, anybody. I always was mindful not to collect any personal information but will double-check again if everything is safe.</p><p>Hang on in there, you are not alone!</p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://world.museumsprojekte.de/tag/budgetcuts/" target="_blank">#BudgetCuts</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://world.museumsprojekte.de/tag/collections-management/" target="_blank">#collectionsManagement</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://world.museumsprojekte.de/tag/documentation/" target="_blank">#documentation</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://world.museumsprojekte.de/tag/grant-erasure/" target="_blank">#grantErasure</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://world.museumsprojekte.de/tag/grants/" target="_blank">#grants</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://world.museumsprojekte.de/tag/imls/" target="_blank">#IMLS</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://world.museumsprojekte.de/tag/museum/" target="_blank">#museum</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://world.museumsprojekte.de/tag/neh/" target="_blank">#NEH</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://world.museumsprojekte.de/tag/preparing-for-shutdown/" target="_blank">#preparingForShutdown</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://world.museumsprojekte.de/tag/registrar/" target="_blank">#registrar</a></p>
AnarchoNinaAnalyzes<p>As someone who has written herself to exhaustion just trying to keep up with the Trump regime's "shock doctrine" installation of a white nationalist dictatorship through a flurry of autocratic executive orders, I can understand how the larger public might not have noticed the one about defunding and ideologically controlling the niche-sounding Institute of Museum and Library Services. After all, we live in an internet world, were millions of people are happy to ask their garbage "AI" assistant for "facts" approved by technofascist billionaires, museums aren't a big part of your daily life, and unless you're poor or from an underserved rural community, there's a good chance you have no idea what kind of "services" a public library can provide anyway. As this March 21st article in the Guardian demonstrates however, this decision is deeply political and part of the regime's openly white nationalist agenda because of which types of people it targets, what services it removes, and how it fits into the larger fascist war to rewrite history and indoctrinate our society. </p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/21/trump-attack-libraries-devastating" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">theguardian.com/commentisfree/</span><span class="invisible">2025/mar/21/trump-attack-libraries-devastating</span></a></p><p>Trump’s attack on libraries was predictable. Its consequences could be devastating</p><p>"How did we arrive at this moment? The targeting of library funding appears to be financial, but it’s deeply political. Last year alone, the American Library Association reported 1,247 attempts to ban library books nationwide, largely targeting works related to race, gender identity and LGBTQ+ experiences. Librarians increasingly face intimidation simply for defending intellectual freedom, the very principle libraries have always championed.</p><p>Yet libraries remain non-partisan, practical institutions focused on ensuring equitable access to information, learning and civic participation. From Boston’s Edward M Kennedy Institute, which offers IMLS supported immersive Senate debate simulations, to voter registration drives and disability-inclusive voting programs in Illinois and Alaska, libraries sustain democracy itself."</p><p>I don't think its hard to figure out why White Trash Hitler and his government full of nazi ghouls are targeting Indigenous communities, poor families, disabled people, educators, students, and folks dedicated to registering voters; in a variety of ways all of those groups are already people the regime has marked out as enemies of the new fascist order. Crucially however, I think this executive order has to be understood as part of a larger war on our history, education, and the accessibility of viewpoints that would be fundamentally opposed to a fascist regime like the Trump administration as a matter of course. Downmarket Mussolini isn't writing these executive orders in a vacuum and I'm glad this article's author tied what's going on here into the larger fascist quest to control the content of libraries; first in schools and now through the public library systems in America.</p><p>Reading this story I was reminded of a 2023 comment in the New York Times from Deborah Caldwell-Stone of the American Library Association in the face of the nationwide crusade to ban library books by a very small number of fascists closely aligned with Trump and the larger Christian Nationalist movement. I don't have the exact quote in front of me, but Caldwell-Stone provided a great example of the "boiling frog" style of war on learning these people are waging by pointing out that two years prior, these fascists had been banning books by nonwhite, LGBTQ, and otherwise diverse authors in school libraries and telling folks that if they wanted to read them, they could just go to a public library and do so for free. By the time Caldwell-Stone had given the interview however, that very same group of ideologically motivated fascists, were pushing for all the same books to be banned in public libraries too; which makes it pretty clear that the goal isn't protecting students, but rather to keep *anyone* from consuming knowledge this Christian Nationalist movement that has coalesced around Trump, doesn't want them to read. Now that Trump is president, and working to make himself King, it's wholly unsurprising that he could continue those efforts to erase viewpoints his fascist regime cannot allow to exist, by starving and seeking to control the very public libraries where your average person would find those viewpoints in the first place. </p><p>Folks, I grew in a patriarchal fascist household dominated by my father, who I am certain if he were alive, would fully support the fascist Trump regime today. Access to other viewpoints through public libraries is how I escaped that cracker headcage. If these nazis have their way, none of our children will ever have the same opportunities to question unjust authority and imposed racial hierarchies as I did; and the nazis know that - in fact, they're counting on it.</p><p><a href="https://social.treehouse.systems/tags/Fascism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Fascism</span></a> <a href="https://social.treehouse.systems/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Trump</span></a> <a href="https://social.treehouse.systems/tags/Libraries" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Libraries</span></a> <a href="https://social.treehouse.systems/tags/IMLS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>IMLS</span></a> <a href="https://social.treehouse.systems/tags/Indoctrination" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Indoctrination</span></a> <a href="https://social.treehouse.systems/tags/Propaganda" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Propaganda</span></a> <a href="https://social.treehouse.systems/tags/WhiteSupremacy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WhiteSupremacy</span></a> <a href="https://social.treehouse.systems/tags/Education" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Education</span></a> <a href="https://social.treehouse.systems/tags/ChristianNationalism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ChristianNationalism</span></a> <a href="https://social.treehouse.systems/tags/Patriarchy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Patriarchy</span></a> <a href="https://social.treehouse.systems/tags/History" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>History</span></a> <a href="https://social.treehouse.systems/tags/Books" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Books</span></a></p>
ExploreLive feeds
Mastodon is the best way to keep up with what's happening.
Follow anyone across the fediverse and see it all in chronological order. No algorithms, ads, or clickbait in sight.
Create accountLoginDrag & drop to upload