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On March 14, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order (EO) with immediate consequences for the nation’s libraries. EO 14238, “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy,” called for the elimination of seven government agencies—notably, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the federal agency dedicated to funding library services. With it, the administration moved to dismiss dozens of agency workers and to cut off at the knees one of the most trusted of American institutions. Librarians and their communities received this news with no clear answer about what would come next, leading to a period of uncertainty and, ultimately, resilience.

Librarians respond to pressure with presence.

Among the more than 100 pages of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, two paragraphs have had outsized influence on library services over the last 30 years. These paragraphs are the basis of the federal E-Rate program which, today, supports internet connectivity for about half of the nation’s public libraries.

LJ recently convened a roundtable of experts to weigh in on the latest developments in a topic that is central to the library profession: copyright. 

A look at federal library policy in 2025, and work to be done in the coming year.

A recent report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office highlights the urgent needs of library facilities across the country, with multiple factors contributing to ongoing maintenance and construction challenges. In “Public Libraries: Many Buildings Are Reported to Be in Poor Condition, with Increasing Deferred Maintenance,” released on December 18, the government agency found that an estimated 38 percent of the nation’s public library buildings—about 6,000—have at least one major building system in poor condition.

Despite data that only about five percent of media consumers’ time is spent with books and audiobooks, publishing has the conditions to thrive.

Since the release of the March 14 executive order calling for the dismantling of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), libraries across the country have been managing the immediate fallout while also considering the long-term effects of losing federal funding. For small and rural libraries without multiple revenue streams, a future without IMLS is particularly uncertain.

As the impact of generative artificial intelligence continues to grow, are there ways that libraries can help shape its future?