The small state of Vermont has, believe it or not, 187 libraries.
"From my perspective, libraries are as American as apple pie," Catherine Delneo, the Vermont state librarian and commissioner of libraries, told The Commons.
She described the state's libraries as "a vital piece of our of our community, because they're providing access to information and free access to information and free speech and the right to use the library and do research and to read" - all "really fundamental American values," she said.
"So I think that libraries are preserving those things already, and certainly, that's what we hope to continue to do," said Delneo in the wake of the Trump administration's decision (just ahead of National Library Week, April 6 to April 12) to strip down and take apart the relatively unknown Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
The independent agency of the federal government was established in 1996 to support 123,000 libraries, archives, and 35,000 museums, including archives, in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and U.S. territories, according to its website.
In fiscal year 2024, the IMLS distributed nearly $267 million in congressionally approved funds through grants.
The Trump administration brought in Deputy Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling to be in charge of the IMLS, "accompanied by a team of security and staff" from the Department of Government Efficiency, reported USA Today.
Last week, Sonderling fired the IMLS board of directors. He also put the IMLS staff of approximately 70 people on "paid administrative leave" for 90 days. But last week, the entire staff was dismissed and will lose their jobs as of early May.
Why? They are cutting "bloat" and ensuring that "hard-earned tax dollars are not diverted to discriminatory DEI initiatives or divisive, anti-American programming in our cultural institutions," according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
And Sonderling said, "We will focus on patriotism, ensuring we preserve our country's core values, promote American exceptionalism, and cultivate love of country in future generations."
On April 4, Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark, along with a coalition of 20 other state attorneys general, joined in a suit against the Trump administration "to stop the dismantling of three federal agencies that provide services and funding supporting public libraries and museums, workers, and minority-owned businesses nationwide," according to a news release from the Office of the Vermont Attorney General, which called the Trump policies "unconstitutional actions."
She identified those three agencies as the IMLS, the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS).
Clark, who chairs the board of trustees of the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library in Williston, said that "Vermonters know that libraries are the heart of our towns and rural communities, and this executive order would threaten their continued health."
"For some, gutting these grants could jeopardize their very survival," she said. "I know how important Vermont's town libraries are to children, job seekers, elders, and all of us."
Libraries in Vermont
In Vermont, the IMSL grants represent one third of the state's Department of Library's budget, or $1.24 million, Delneo said.
"This funding goes toward our work on a five-year plan that the IMLS approved already," Delneo said. "So our plan is in place from 2023 and it goes through 2027."
Pointing out that the federal government's been funding libraries for decades, "this was a real surprise to hear that there would be any potential disruption to that," she continued. "I'm really hopeful that we will receive the allocation that we're expecting in an amount similar to what we received in 2024 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services."
The other two-thirds of the department's budget comes from the state, Delneo said.
"We are part of the Agency of Administration, and we receive an appropriation from the general fund each year," Delneo said. "So our budget is currently under consideration by the Legislature."
The department has a staff of 18 people, plus two more working on a special capital project.
The money, Delneo said in a formal statement, "is used to strengthen library services across the state and to support shared resources that all Vermonters can access. These shared resources include the statewide interlibrary loan program, the Vermont Online Library collection of databases and workforce development resources, and the Palace Project App - a collection of eBooks and eAudiobooks.
The funds also support the ABLE Library, which provides direct library services to Vermonters with print disabilities, as well as the department's consultation services, continuing education, and statewide training for library staff and trustees on topics like early childhood literacy, library management and operations, accessible buildings, services to rural communities, and youth services.
"Every one of Vermont's public, school, and academic libraries relies upon the shared statewide resources, which are funded in part by the Grants to States funds from IMLS."
Several states have already received notice that their funding has been terminated. At this writing, Vermont has not received word yet. So it has become a waiting game.
"We haven't heard anything specific about our grant, so we still do have hope that we'll receive the 2025 allotment," Delneo said. "I'm not sure who would tell us, if they've put the whole staff on administrative leave. My impression is that the states whose funding was cut received emails with that information, signed by the acting director of IMLS. We typically hear from IMLS staff by emails, but also through an online portal. And we've checked our portal. There are no messages there, and we've also not received any emails."
And if Vermont's funding was to be cut?
"We don't have a specific plan, because we haven't heard anything specific from IMLS," Delneo said. "I think that the department would strive to continue providing the same services to Vermonters. There would definitely need to be some adjustments made. But it would be premature to speak about any specific impact.
"All our services are things that we would hope to maintain. We might have to do it at a slightly different level than we're doing it now if we had lost that funding, but we certainly would strive to do everything that we're statutorily obliged to do at the department to support strong library services throughout the state."
Rural libraries hard hit
For Starr LaTronica, the director of Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro, the Trump administration's action is part of a larger trend - "an increase in attempts to ban books or remove books from school libraries."
"Libraries have been under attack for several years from from people who would prefer that they don't carry materials that they don't agree with," LaTronica said. "But of course, the whole premise of public libraries is that we carry a broad range of materials that represent a broad range of opinions.
"And that's the whole wonderful thing about them. You can come and explore a wide array of knowledge and information and even opinion, and then make up your own mind," she continued. "We trust the public to do that."
With regard to the IMLS, "it was just a matter of time," LaTronica said.
"They're going through all these agencies, and I think somebody noticed this one and said, 'Maybe we can live without that,'" she said.
But this kind of funding is just what government does so well, LaTronica said.
"It takes a finite, small-ish amount of money, and provides a great return on investment by spreading it around, by enabling localities to provide services that they couldn't otherwise provide," she observed.
Vital training comes from the IMLS money, which goes to the [Vermont] State Library, "and they provide things like trustee training, so that our trustees know the ins and outs and can be effective in directing their libraries," LaTronica said.
Those funds have provided training to staff of even the smallest libraries in the state.
"Vermont has a huge number of libraries for the size of the state, and many of them are really small," LaTronica said. "Many of them are not staffed by librarians with masters degrees in library science, but they can go through a training program and get a certificate of librarianship through the State Library."
With that free training, "so many of our libraries are able to really be effective and have first-rate leaders," she said.
Brooks Memorial Library has a large and devoted clientele. According to LaTronica, "40 people walk in the door for every hour we are open. That's 113,753 annual visits and 2,793 annual open hours minus holiday closures."
The interlibrary loan service is especially valuable to Brooks patrons, LaTronica said.
"It is constantly being used," she said. "I was here last night when a young man came in. He had requested a workbook of graphic design that we got from RISD [Rhode Island School of Design]. He wouldn't have had access to that kind of material, but we were able to do that because we get support from the state library through IMLS."
That funding supports the interlibrary loan infrastructure, including a computer system and a courier system.
"That's just one way, quietly and invisibly, that IMLS provides tremendous support for localities so that they can best serve their community members," LaTronica said.
The IMLS money also provides grants to small libraries for summer reading programs, she added.
"So even these small village libraries can give their constituents the same kind of quality library service that the people of Brattleboro receive, or the people of Burlington," LaTronica said.
Brooks is a municipal library with a budget funded by the town. It also has a significant endowment. And it recently won itself a $1 million grant, but that money must be used only for capital improvements.
Still, in this unquiet time, no funding can be taken for granted.
"I'm feeling incredibly lucky because I live in a town that loves and supports and appreciates its library, even if not everyone comes through our door," LaTronica said. "This is a great community to be a librarian in; I can't imagine a better one."
But LaTronica said she is "feeling threatened just by the economic situations that all libraries are dealing with and that all municipalities are dealing with."
"We're going to have to make hard choices," she said, recognizing that "we don't have an infinite amount of resources."
"And so I'm worried," LaTronica said. "We have a world-class library here. It will be really disappointing if we have to cut back on services."
Perhaps half of the library's services aren't even seen - they're preventative, LaTronica said. And how can one even measure those?
"So much of what we do is taking care of problems before they happen," she said. "We don't really know the full impact of what we do. For example, we provide programming for teens and give them a place to come, and we support and recognize them.
"One hopes it leads them into more positive activities in their lives. So we'd never know the dire consequences if those didn't exist. and if they went down a different path."
The library also provides social interaction and connection, LaTronica said.
"We spend a lot of time working with seniors that come in, or people of any age that come in, that are looking for social connection," she said. "And if we can keep one person on an even keel who would otherwise have a mental health crisis? We don't know, because we've already prevented that."
'We would all feel it if this funding didn't continue'
Other rural libraries are also feeling uncertain in this chaotic political climate.
For example, libraries like the Lydia Taft Pratt Library in Dummerston and the Putney Public Library are both deeply concerned about the possibility of losing courier service for the interlibrary loan program.
"Putney Library patrons use these services every day," said Emily Zervas, the library director of the Putney Public Library, "Our interlibrary loan service, our downloadable audiobooks and ebooks, our research databases. Our patrons also benefit from IMLS-funded professional development for our staff and consulting services that we as a small library wouldn't otherwise be able to afford."
Pratt Library Director Dena Marger said, "What I'm most concerned about at this point is that the Department of Libraries is going to lose 30% of their funding, and the Department of Libraries supports individual public libraries in lots of different ways. Some of them are financial, through things like the grants that we get, but some of them are just advocacy. And the department does training and educational programs. So I am worried that they're going to have staff cuts. That's going to impact local libraries."
"We would all feel it if this funding didn't continue," Zervas said. "Without it, Putney would have to individually pay for many of the services we're receiving or cut them down. I'd hate to have fewer stops per week for our interlibrary loan delivery service or not be able to send our staff to trainings on new technology."
The recent slash-and-burn activities of the federal government to the IMLS are incredibly shortsighted, Zervas said.
"The original purpose of the public library system in our country is to support having an educated population so we can all participate in democracy," she said. "While this scope has expanded to include things like teaching pre-literacy skills to 0-5 year olds, hosting programming that offers social connection, and providing computers and job search support, libraries remain crucial to supporting healthy and functional communities."
It is also financially shortsighted, Zervas said.
"Libraries operate on the model of having a few of something that we can all share to save resources, instead of each individual securing their own item," she said.
"If every tiny library in Vermont, or every library in the country, has to secure its own interlibrary loan contract, its own collection of audiobooks and ebooks, or its own database subscriptions, the costs will be much greater for everyone," Zervas observed.
If the goal is to save money, she said, "the gutting of the IMLS is ham-handed at best and an intentional suppression of education and information access at worst."
This News item by Joyce Marcel was written for The Commons.