Latest news with #KeithE.Sonderling
Engadget
20-05-2025
- Business
- Engadget
US libraries cut ebook and audiobook lending programs following Trump executive order
In the latest episode of How to Dismantle Public Services in 12 Easy Steps , a Trump executive order targeting libraries has real-world consequences. The AP reported over the weekend that libraries across the country are cutting programs that offer ebooks, audiobooks and other loan programs. These initiatives exploded in popularity following the pandemic, with over 660 million people globally borrowing them in 2023 — a 19 percent annual increase. The cuts and slashing of grants followed a Trump executive order issued on March 14 targeting the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). His appointee to helm the agency, Keith E. Sonderling, quickly signaled that he was there to do the president's bidding. He placed the IMLS's entire staff on administrative leave, sent termination notices to most of them, canceled grants and contracts and fired everyone on the National Museum and Library Services Board. Federal judges have temporarily blocked the administration from further gutting the IMLS. But while lawsuits from 21 states and the American Library Association make their way through the courts, the agency's federal funding remains frozen. And libraries are scrambling to adjust. If you've ever used your library to borrow an ebook or audiobook through an app like Libby or Hoopla, there's a good chance federal funding made that possible. Libraries purchase digital leases for ebooks and audiobooks from publishers, enabling them to lend titles to patrons. The leases typically cost much more than physical copies and must be renewed after a set period or number of checkouts. With library digital borrowing surging, those federal funds went a long way toward keeping the programs afloat. Mississippi has indefinitely suspended its Hoopla-based lending program. The IMLS was created in 1996 by a Republican-controlled US Congress. The agency has an annual budget of under $300 million, with nearly half of that amount allocated to state libraries, which, in turn, help fund local libraries' digital lending programs. "The small library systems are not able to pay for the ebooks themselves," Rebecca Wendt, California's state library director, told the AP .
New York Times
08-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
American Library Association Sues to Stop Trump Cuts
The American Library Association and a union representing more than 42,000 cultural workers nationwide have filed a lawsuit contesting the Trump administration's deep cuts to the federal agency that supports the nation's libraries, arguing that the cuts are already causing 'irreparable harm.' The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday by the library association and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, came days after the Institute for Museum and Library Services dismissed most of its staff of 70, fired its board and began informing state library agencies that their grants had been cut. The suit seeks a preliminary injunction reversing those actions and halting 'any further steps to dissolve the agency' until the court can fully consider the issue. The plaintiffs assert that cuts, which the suit says were ordered by the Department of Government Efficiency, threatened to disrupt the operation of libraries across the country. They argue the moves are illegal because they were undertaken without congressional approval. 'Congress is the only entity that may lawfully dismantle the agency, not the president and certainly not DOGE,' the lawsuit said. The agency's interim director, Keith E. Sonderling, and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Last week, the attorneys general of 21 states filed a similar lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island, arguing that the funding cuts violated the Constitution and federal law by usurping Congress's power to determine how federal funds are spent. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
