In his proposed federal budget for fiscal 2027, which targets $1.5 trillion for defense spending, President Trump once again calls for eliminating funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the only federal agency dedicated to supporting all types of libraries, as well as ending support for the school library program Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL). The American Library Association reacted quickly to Trump’s expected move, issuing a statement late Friday afternoon decrying the cuts.

"We are not surprised that the White House FY27 budget zeroes out funding for IMLS and IAL,” ALA president Sam Helmick said. “The president’s intentions for IMLS were clear last year with the executive order to dismantle IMLS and cut off its funding. His FY27 budget follows a pattern started in his first term, when he proposed eliminating IMLS in four consecutive budget cycles.”

Last year, the ALA and other library organizations managed to block Trump’s attempt to shut IMLS in addition to cutting library funding across the board. In his statement, Helmick once again vowed that the ALA will rally support, particularly from Congress, to protect library services. The ALA noted that despite the Trump’s administration’s assault on library programs in 2025, in the end supporters helped to secure a $1.4 million increase in federal library funding.

Still, Helmick stressed that the library community needs to band together to thwart Trump’s newest attack.

“ALA members have a solid track record of defeating the president’s threats, but we do not underestimate the lengths to which he will go to undercut support for America’s libraries,” Helmick said. “ALA is working to make sure decisionmakers continue to hear from library advocates. Already this year, thousands of advocates have emailed and called their congressmembers to go on record as supportive of federal funding for libraries. Right now, ALA members are asking their senators to sign letters of support for IMLS and IAL.”

In addition to cutting funding for IMLS and IAL, the new budget proposes severe cuts to several literary and library friendly programs. Among the programs targeted by the Administration include the National Endowment for the Humanities whose budget in the new fiscal year would fall to $39 million from $192 million and the National Endowment for the Arts whose budget would drop to $29 million from $208 million. Both agencies' current budgets came after the Trump Administration proposed steep cuts along the lines proposed for the upcoming fiscal year.

For its part, EveryLibrary issued a statement calling on Congress to reject any proposal that would cut IMLS, NARA, or the Library of Congress below functional levels. "We urge Congress to sustain and strengthen the funding formula that underpins nationwide library services and guarantees uninterrupted public access to essential resources." To galvanize support, EveryLibrary is urging the public to "take a stand for IMLS funding with your members of Congress by sending a message today on SaveIMLS.org, our federal action site."

This story has been updated.