An open letter signed by Authors Against Book Bans, the HarperCollins union, and nearly 400 authors, librarians, booksellers, agents, and other publishing professionals is calling on HarperCollins to speak up on behalf of the beleaguered Institute of Museum and Library Services and all libraries. The demand follows an April 3 missive to Congress signed by the other four Big Five publishers—Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster—and Sourcebooks which called on legislators to "reject" the Trump administration's March 14 executive order calling for the for the elimination of the IMLS “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.”

"As a leader in the publishing industry, it is imperative that you reconsider your lack of support and vocally oppose Executive Order 14238," the open letter reads. "Not signing this letter is an insult to your employees, your authors, librarians who champion the books you publish, and your many readers who depend on libraries for access."

Signees also demand to "know why" HarperCollins did not sign the April 3 letter along with the rest of the Big Five houses and "what HarperCollins will do to defend IMLS and all libraries moving forward."

The publishers' letter to Congress, which was sent in advance of the American Library Association’s annual National Library Week, expressed "grave concern" over the state of the nation’s libraries following a week of unprecedented turmoil at the IMLS, the agency responsible for distributing federal funding to libraries. “Allowing the IMLS to be defunded, and thus to disappear, would leave millions of Americans without access to the books, tools, and other resources required to participate in the modern world,” the letter read. “Shuttering IMLS would be an act of monumental neglect, violating the very foundation of America and what it stands for as a country. It would undermine the tenets of our democracy and our citizens’ right to read, think, and learn freely.”

The open letter to HarperCollins cites a 2023 PW interview with Brian Murray, in which the HarperCollins CEO, when asked about the rise of book banning, said “We need to ensure that our books are widely available … and in as many library systems as possible so that readers can access all our books in some format in every zip code or postcode," adding: "Each publisher should strongly support their authors whose books are banned by speaking up and promoting those books in general markets and bookstores.”

"We call on Murray to stand by his own professed principles," the open letter reads, "ensuring that books reach readers across the United States through our library systems."

HC has backed other industrywide efforts to support issues important to publishing, including signing on as one of the plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of two provisions of the Florida's H.B. 1069, a law, critics say, that is fueling a surge in unconstitutional book bans in school libraries. The publisher, owned by News Corp, tends to not participate in petition-driven activities.

HC did not respond to a request for comment.