Libraries in the United States reduce e-books, audio books and credit programs after the Trump management had exposed millions of dollars of federal grants while trying to dissolve the Institute for Museum and Library Services.
The federal judges have given momentary orders to prevent the Trump administration from taking further steps to the exception of the agency. However, the unexpected tapping of grants has given many libraries a considerable blow in which budgets are redesigned and various options for recording money are considered.
Maine released a fifth of his employees and temporarily closed his state library after he had not received the rest of his annual financing. The libraries in Mississippi set an indefinite period of offering a popular e-book service, and the South Dakota State Library has done its Interlibribribribribribribribribri L77 L77.
E-book and audiobook programs are particularly susceptible to budget cuts, although these offers have been increasingly popular since Covid 19 pandemic.
“I think everyone should know that the cost of providing digital sources is too expensive for most libraries,” said Cindy Hohl, President of the American Library Association. “It is a continuous and growing need.”
Library officers surprised by Trump’s cuts
On March 14, President Donald Trump issued an executive regulation to reduce the IMLs before he released almost all employees.
A month later, the Maine State Library announced that it granted knowledge of dismissal for employees who were financed through an IMLS subsidy program.
“It was quite a surprise for all of us,” said Spencer Davis, a library generalist in the Maine State Library, who is one of eight employees who were released on May 8th because of the suspended financing.
In April California, Washington and Connecticut were the only three countries that received letters in which the rest of their financing was canceled for the year, said Hohl. The money has not yet been distributed for others. The three states have submitted all formal objections to the IMLs.
Rebecca Wendt, director of the California State Library, said she never said why the financing in California was terminated, while the other remaining states would not have received the same announcement.
“We are mystified,” said Wendt.
The agency did not respond to an e -mail to get a comment.
Popular digital offers on the wood block block
Most libraries are financed by the governments of the city and the district, but receive a smaller part of their budget from their state libraries that receive federal money every year to pay for summer reading programs, interlibrary credit services and digital books. Libraries in rural areas rely more on federal grants than on cities.
Many states utilize the financing to pay e-books and audio books that are increasingly popular and more steep. In 2023, more than 660 million people worldwide, audio books and digital magazines of 19% borrowed from 19% in 2022, said Overdrive, the main sales of digital content for libraries and schools.
In Mississippi, the State Library helped finance its nationwide e-book program.
For a few days, Erin Busbea was the wearer of bad news for readers in their Mississippi library: HOOPLA, a popular app to review e-books and audio books, was suspended for an indefinite period due to the finance broadcaster in lowndes and Desoto Counties.
“People called and asked:” Why can’t I access my books about Hoopla? “, Said Busbea, library director of the Columbus lownds public library system in Columbus, a mostly black city northeast of Jackson.
The library system also had to glaide parts of its ACCHIBRIBRIBRIBRIBRIBRIBRIBRISPER7, so that readers borrow books from other countries if they are not available on site.
“For most libraries that used federal dollars, they had to restrict these activities,” said Hulen Bivins, Executive Director of the Mississippi Library Commission.
States fight against financing freezing
The financing freezing came after the approximately 70 agency employees were transferred to administrative leave in March.
The Attorney General in 21 states and the American Library Association have submitted complaints against the Trump government to reduce the agency.
The institute’s annual budget is less than 300 million US dollars and distributes less than half of them to state libraries across the country. In California, the state library was announced that around 20%or 3 million dollars of its scholarship were terminated of $ 15 million.
“The small library systems are unable to pay for the e-books themselves,” said Wendt, the librarian of the state of California.
In South Dakota, the interlibribribribribribribribribribribribribri77 learns how Nancy van der Wide, a spokesman for the Ministry of Education by South Dakota, is stopped.
The institute, founded in 1996 by a Republican -controlled Congress, also supports a training program for library named after the former first Lady Laura Bush, which wants to set and train librarians from different or underrepresented backgrounds. A Bush spokesman did not give back any request that requested a comment.
“Financing the library is never robust. It is always a point of discussion. You always have to use something for you,” said Liz Doucett, library director at Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick, Maine. “It only contributes to general fear.”
___
Lathan is a member of the Corps for the “Associated Press/Report” initiative for America Statehouse News. The report for America is a non -profit National Service program that reports journalists in local news editorial offices on hidden topics.
