On Friday, March 14th, 2025, an executive order was issued that could reduce or eliminate important services provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). IMLS is a federal agency that helps libraries and museums across all 50 states and U.S. territories. In our state, the New Hampshire State Library receives $1.5 million from IMLS to fund programs like the interlibrary loan system (ILL), the online catalog, and courier van services that help deliver books between libraries. Below you’ll find updates from the State of New Hampshire regarding the status of this executive order and it’s impact on New Hampshire libraries.
How can you help?
If you care about keeping these services, we need you to contact your Congressional Delegation. Tell them why IMLS funding is so important. Thank you for your support of libraries. We’ll keep you updated with more information and ways you can help.
https://www.sos.nh.gov/congressional-delegation
TIMELINE –
June 18th- NH State Library-
The New Hampshire State Library has received official award notification for the full and anticipated amount of Grants to States Funds. This provides for federally funded services through 09/30/2026.
June 16th- U.S Govt Accountability Office
https://www.gao.gov/products/b-337375
Congress appropriated amounts to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to carry out authorized mission activities for fiscal year 2025. An executive order then directed IMLS to reduce operations. IMLS ceased performing agency functions and withheld from obligation and expenditure funds that Congress appropriated for such functions.
Unless Congress has enacted a law providing otherwise, executive branch officials must take care to ensure that they prudently obligate appropriations during their period of availability. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (ICA) allows the President to withhold funds from obligation, but only under strictly limited circumstances and only in a manner consistent with that Act. The ICA was enacted to ensure that legislation passed by Congress and signed by the President is faithfully executed.
GAO’s institutional role is to support the Congress, including in Congress’s exercise of its constitutional power of the purse. This includes GAO’s responsibilities under the ICA, such as reviewing special messages and reporting impoundments the President has not reported. GAO’s role is procedural—to protect congressional prerogatives and help ensure compliance with the ICA and appropriations law—and is not to be interpreted as taking a position on the underlying policies. IMLS has not responded to GAO’s requests for information regarding the potential impoundment of appropriated funds. Yet publicly available evidence, including sworn testimony, federal court cases, data on USAspending.gov, and information on IMLS’s website, indicates that IMLS withheld grant and other appropriated funds. Based on the available evidence and the lack of any special message pertaining to IMLS funds, GAO concludes that IMLS has violated the ICA by withholding funds from obligation and expenditure. GAO also concludes that IMLS violated the ICA by withholding funds that cannot be withheld under the ICA’s fourth disclaimer.
May 21, 2025-NH State Library
To the NH library community:
We wanted to let you know that today the NH Senate Finance Committee voted to keep the NH State Council on the Arts, a division within the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, unfunded. They also voted to start a state fund that can accept private and corporate donations in support of the arts and funded it with $1. So, as of today, the next State of NH biennium budget will fund the arts with $1. The sentiment was expressed that the council is a “want” not a need and that the arts in the state could be kept going with a voluntary council with members who can fill any necessary administrative functions. Further, the $300,000 “back of the budget cut” for the entire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources remains in effect. As of today, we have no information about how that will affect the State Library’s programs and services,
April 17, 2025-NH State Library
To the NH Library Community,
Since the Executive Order of March 14 regarding the dismantling of IMLS to only what is “statutorily required” the NHSL staff has:
- Weathered an amendment to defund the State Library (which was withdrawn in large part due to YOUR advocacy and outreach!);
- Established regular contact with members of our Congressional delegation, updating them about the services and programs that NH uses its federal grants for, explaining their importance to NH libraries, and asking them to make contact with IMLS on our behalf to deliver the message of the importance of federal library funds to NH;
- Worked with and informed NH state agencies (DNCR, COGE, Department of Administrative Services) about the importance and impact of federal library funds to NH’s libraries;
- Met /corresponded with vendors to ask about their ability to be flexible with payment schedules; and
- Begun to research/explore what, if any, alternatives might exist for some of the programs and services that are currently run on federal funds.
As a reminder, the status of our federal grants remains “executed” and available for drawdown. I remain able to access our request platform and have received no notice of grant termination.
March 31, 2025- NH State Library
To the NH Library Community,
Today, at 2:39 PM State Library received an email from Teri DeVoe, the Associate Deputy Director of the Grants to States program at IMLS. She stated, “Within the last hour IMLS received word that all staff are going to be placed on administrative leave, effective today. We will not be able to work or respond to your emails, and we don’t have any information about future timelines related to this action. Please share with other staff as appropriate, and please know how much we appreciate you and your work.”
March 24, 2025- NH State Library
Important: How Recent Executive Order Affects New Hampshire Libraries
On Friday, March 14th, 2025, an executive order was issued that could reduce or eliminate important services provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). IMLS is a federal agency that helps libraries and museums across all 50 states and U.S. territories. If these changes go through, it will seriously affect library services for Hanover and all of New Hampshire.
In our state, the New Hampshire State Library receives $1.5 million from IMLS to fund programs like the interlibrary loan system (ILL), the online catalog, and courier van services that help deliver books between libraries. In 2024, The Howe Library loaned 1,184 items to other libraries and borrowed 861 items to meet the needs of our patrons.
IMLS funding also helps provide important services like Talking Books for people with vision impairments and access to Libby, which allows you to borrow eBooks, audiobooks, and digital magazines. In 2024, Howe Library patrons borrowed over 4000 titles last year through Libby.
