IMLS kept alive

A court-backed settlement this month kept the Institute of Museum and Library Services open and reversed cuts that had started under a Trump administration order. (democracyforward.org) The deal was announced April 9 in *American Library Association v. Sonderling*, after the American Library Association and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees sued in May 2025. The Associated Press reported that the agreement lets the agency keep awarding grants and operating programs for libraries and museums. (democracyforward.org) (usnews.com) Under the settlement, all 2025 reductions in force were rescinded, employees who got termination notices were authorized to return, and previously terminated grant awards were reinstated nationwide. The agreement also says the agency will continue grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, and other assistance to the full extent Congress appropriates, unless another law says otherwise. (democracyforward.org) (usnews.com) The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the federal agency that supports libraries, archives, and museums in all 50 states and U.S. territories. It was created by the Museum and Library Services Act in 1996. (imls.gov) (usgovernmentmanual.gov) Its reach is large for a small agency. The Institute of Museum and Library Services says it awarded $266.7 million in 2024, and Congress appropriated $294.8 million for fiscal year 2024. (imls.gov) (reed.senate.gov) The fight started after President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14238 on March 14, 2025, describing the agency and several others as “unnecessary,” according to the Associated Press. Staff were then placed on administrative leave, grants and contracts were canceled, and members of the National Museum and Library Services Board were fired. (usnews.com) This case was not the only one. In a separate Rhode Island lawsuit brought by state attorneys general, a federal court issued a permanent injunction on November 21, 2025, and the Trump administration later dropped its appeal on April 6, 2026. (democracyforward.org) (ala.org) The administration did not concede wrongdoing in the settlement. The agreement says defendants rejected the plaintiffs’ allegations and maintained that the restructuring tied to Executive Order 14238 was lawful. (democracyforward.org) The legal threat to dismantling the agency has eased, but the budget fight is still alive. Reporting from *The New York Times* and Artnet says President Trump still wants to eliminate the agency’s funding, which Congress would have to approve. (nytimes.com) (news.artnet.com) For now, the settlement leaves the Institute of Museum and Library Services doing the work Congress assigned it to do: sending money out, restarting research, and keeping federal support flowing to museums and libraries across the country. (democracyforward.org)