By Hank Russell
Attorney General Letitia James won a court order stopping the Trump administration from dismantling three federal agencies that provide services and funding supporting various entities, including public libraries and museums. This decision, according to James, would save more than 200,000 library jobs across the state.
In April, James co-led a coalition of 20 other attorneys general in suing the Trump administration to stop the implementation of an Executive Order that would dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). IMLS, which supports museums and libraries nationwide through grantmaking, research, and policy development;
On May 13, the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island issued an order granting the states’ request for a preliminary injunction to stop the Trump administration from implementing the Executive Order and protecting the three agencies.
“[The IMLS] provide[s] critical support to help minority-owned businesses, protect workers’ rights, and make sure our libraries and museums continue to serve our communities,” James said. “The administration’s attack on [the IMLS] is illegal, and today we put a stop to it. I will continue to fight back against this administration’s chaos and destruction of basic services that New Yorkers depend on.”
James and the coalition asserted in the lawsuit that dismantling the IMLS will have devastating effects on communities throughout New York and the nation that rely on them to provide important services to the public, including funding their libraries, promoting minority-owned businesses, and protecting workers’ rights.
In 2024, IMLS invested $180 million in libraries nationwide under its Grants to States Program. New York received over $8 million, which helped to fund literacy programs for children and adults, provided training for over 200,000 library staff across New York’s 7,000 libraries, improved internet access in libraries, and paid the salaries of two-thirds of New York State Library employees.
The lawsuit is led by James and the attorneys general of Rhode Island and Hawaii. Joining the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.