07-04-2025
Need the truth? Knowledge? Visit a library
Libraries remain a place where people can go to separate fact from fiction. (Getty Images)
We 'celebrated' April Fools last week, pranking, getting pranked or observing from a safe distance. I once wrote an April Fools column that ended up passed around on the floor of the Nebraska Legislature, prompted an angry call from the head of the Nebraska School Administrators Association and caused four subscribers to the Grand Island Independent to cancel their subscriptions.
Geesh, who knew? I retired from the prankster game after that folderol.
Few, however, know that April 2, the day after our annual descent into tomfoolery is known as International Fact-Checking Day. The brainchild of the International Fact-Checking Network, which supports more than 170 fact-checking organizations, International Fact-Checking Day is held each year to remind us of the critical nature of getting the facts right, supporting honest public discourse, invalidating myths and underscoring accountability in journalism.
Fact-checking has become a life preserver in today's ocean of disinformation where we often find ourselves treading water to stay informed and afloat. In the modern maze one must navigate to find and embrace the truth, one place remains a bulwark against the propagandists: the library.
But now perhaps, librarians may be hobbled in their work. Among the president's recent barrage of executive orders (109 as of April 1, including going after of all places, the Smithsonian) is the gutting of the small agency that supports American libraries and museums. The entire staff at the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is on paid administrative leave, which may disproportionately affect small rural libraries and museums.
Nebraska has benefited from the IMLS. In an interview with The Conversation, Devon Akron, Director of the MSU Museum at Michigan State University said that in 2019 the IMLS awarded funds to libraries in Nebraska to support economic development in 30 rural communities. 'The project created rotating 'innovation studios' in local libraries and provided residents with tools, instructional materials and programming to foster entrepreneurship and creativity. The IMLS supports libraries of all types — public, academic, school and research … It is the only federal agency dedicated to sustaining the entire museum and library ecosystem in the United States.'
The American Library Association said the executive order 'would decimate services such as early literacy development and reading programs, high-speed internet access, employment assistance, homework and research resources and accessible reading materials.' Its own internal research indicated that '89 percent of voters and 92 percent of parents believe local public libraries have an important role to play in communities.'
The Trump administration said the cuts would 'strengthen IMLS's ability to serve the American people with integrity and purpose. President Trump was given a clear mandate by the American people, and his executive order delivers on that by reducing federal bureaucracy. This restructure is a necessary step to fulfill that order and ensure hard-earned tax dollars are not diverted to discriminatory DEI initiatives or divisive, anti-American programming in our cultural institutions.'
Mandate? At 49.81 percent of the vote? Seriously? And again with the DEI? What exactly was the 'anti-Americanism' or 'discrimination' or any other divisive behavior? Libraries and museums are by design filled with diversity in ideas, culture and art. They are at their best when they provide the truth, fire our imaginations, build communities and remain a repository of exploration and wonder for all ages, whether through a book, a computer screen, a class or the myriad of programs you can find.
Full disclosure: I am a lifelong fan of libraries, starting with the Carnegie Library in Grand Island where I checked out my first book as a little guy and where I loved spending time among the stacks of titles, the quiet like a friend, the musty smell of something old and important. I often spent time at the Fairfax Branch of the Los Angeles City Library during my decade in the City of Angels, browsing, reading and writing. And when I moved to Lincoln last fall, my first stop — before a new driver's license or a utility account or a new dentist — was the library near my home for a new card.
My own biases aside, I've yet to see how cutting a small agency that supports libraries and museums could benefit Americans.
By the way, last Friday was National Tell a Lie Day, a fitting bookend to the week. But if you want to be sure your friend or coworker or state senator or congressman or president is telling the truth, I suppose you have a few options: Google, Facebook, TikTok, etc.
Or the one you can count on: a library.
