NEW YORK – President Donald Trump has appointed a new temporary head for the Institute of Museum and Library Services, one of the seven autonomous government entities identified in a recent executive decree calling for their dissolution “to the fullest extent permitted by law.”
Trump said that the order “continues the reduction in the elements of the Federal bureaucracy that the President has determined are unnecessary.”
After assuming office, Trump has closed down or significantly reduced the operations of agencies such as the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau and the U.S. Agency for International Development. The Institute of Museum and Library of Services, known as IMLS, plays a vital role in providing financial support to museums, libraries, and educational establishments.
What is the Institute of Museum and Library Services?
The establishment of IMLS dates back to 1996 when it was created by a Congress dominated by the Republican Party with a mandate to “promote, support, and strengthen America’s museums, libraries, and associated organizations through financial assistance, research, and policy formation.” The institute amalgamated the functions of previous government bodies, namely the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science and the Institute of Museum Services.
It distributes thousands of grants nationwide, totaling in recent years to more than $200 million annually. Awards in 2024 ranged from $240,000 for the Chicago History Museum to more than $1 million for several state library training programs named for former Republican first lady Laura Bush to nearly $25,000 for the Lorain Historical Society, which is based in the Ohio hometown of Nobel laureate Toni Morrison.
A spokesperson for Bush declined comment.
Who is the new director?
The new acting director, Keith Sonderling, had recently been confirmed as deputy secretary of the Department of Labor and was from 2020-2024 a commissioner on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He replaces Cyndee Landrum, who had been named acting director in March 2024.
“I am committed to steering this organization in lockstep with this Administration to enhance efficiency and foster innovation,” Sonderling said in a statement after his appointment Thursday. “We will revitalize IMLS and restore focus on patriotism, ensuring we preserve our country’s core values, promote American exceptionalism and cultivate love of country in future generations.”
Has the IMLS been targeted before?
During his first term, Trump repeatedly called for the IMLS to be shut down, but funding was maintained by Congress. The American Library Association in a statement this week condemned “eliminating the only federal agency dedicated to funding library services. … The Trump administration’s executive order is cutting off at the knees the most beloved and trusted of American institutions and the staff and services they offer.”
What happens now?
The library association has advised members that the status of current grants remains unclear. If the administration follows the same playbook it has in targeting other small agencies for closure, IMLS could be shut down.
The U.S. Institute of Peace was one of four agencies Trump ordered to be closed last month in an effort to shrink the size of government. On Monday, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency took control of USIP’s headquarters in Washington and used law enforcement to escort the independent think tank’s employees out of the building. Former USIP board members have sued the administration to stop the takeover but a judge on Wednesday declined to immediately block the administration’s actions.
Staff from DOGE have also moved fast in the past weeks to lay off staff, end grants and contracts and remove the leaders of two other agencies that invested in small businesses in Africa and Latin American and the Caribbean. Former board members and leaders of those organizations have also sued, but a judge ruled it would be legal to remove most staff and grants from the U.S. African Development Foundation.
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