The library world—and Americans in general—received bad news late today when a federal judge declined to block the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The ruling, issued in ALA v. Sonderling, will allow the administration’s cuts at the independent agency while the case proceeds.
The library world experienced a victory yesterday when the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted a temporary restraining order to block President Trump’s dismantling of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the only federal agency dedicated to the nation’s libraries and museums.
Advocates from the American Library Association and other public interest groups rallied on Capitol Hill in support of E-Rate, a federal program that funds broadband for libraries and schools, as the Supreme Court weighs its constitutionality.
The American Library Association urged the new acting director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Keith Sonderling, to be mindful of the legal obligations that Congress has imposed on the agency.
E-Rate has been a quiet powerhouse providing broadband connectivity to libraries and schools across the U.S. for nearly three decades. A conservative group is challenging it in court.
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