In March, President Trump signed an executive order requiring the elimination of seven federal agencies he labeled “unnecessary.” Among these was the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
The IMLS has been a significant source of federal funding for museums and libraries, providing millions of dollars in grants since 1996.
Among them are grants to Connecticut's statewide library services – including early literacy resources and programs, summer reading support, digital skills and job training.
In 2024, the federal government gave Connecticut a little over $2 million, which was intended to last until September 30, 2025. But earlier this month, Connecticut – along with Washington and California – had its federal funding cut off mid-year.
Scott Jarzombek, the president of the Connecticut Library Association, said that deciding to attack libraries is like declaring war on democracy.
“Free flow of information is how you keep democracy alive,” he said. “So defunding libraries, at any level, is really just saying that you don't value democracy, that you don't value free-flowing information, and that you don't want to benefit people who maybe lack the resources that you have. There's a total lack of empathy here, which completely blows me away.”
Jarzombek said libraries and their services are fundamental for cities and towns.
“There is always a segment of a population that believes libraries aren't necessary,” he said. “They tend to be vocal, but they tend to be few. If anyone looks at our numbers, the amount of visits that we get. The amount of programs that we do, the kind of programs that we do, from helping people get their taxes filed to helping people learn digital literacy skills. If people really paid attention, they would get why libraries are necessary.”
Connecticut State Library director Dawn LaValle said the grants also help pay the salaries at her organization, which benefits libraries across the state.
“We provide services to 509 schools, 210 public libraries and academic libraries,” she said. “And we do this all with $2.1 million, which, in the bigger picture of a state budget, is a drop in the bucket.”
Now the question is: would the state be able to replace the money from the federal grant that’s been cut?
LaValle is not sure.
“Our state librarian, Deborah Schander, has been working very closely with state and state government officials as to the possible impact of this federal funding cut,” she said. “So, you know, we are working with our state agencies to make them aware of this situation. It's incumbent upon that decision-making process.”
Public libraries are funded by cities or towns and are not directly supported by federal funds. However, librarians say their communities would still feel the impact of losing these services.
“There's anxiety in the state, in libraries,” said Hamden Public Library director Melissa Canham-Clyne. “And we're a small state. We have a lot of public libraries in the state, 169 municipalities, 171 public libraries, and each library has a mission to serve its public.”
She said libraries are more than just book repositories. They provide many services that most people take for granted.
“So a lot of people who don't have to think about it just assume that everybody can get on their smartphone and do whatever they need to do on their smartphone, or that they have the internet at home, or they can get the internet or whatever,” she said. “And that's just not the reality. There are a lot of people who don't have access to the internet in their homes. There are a lot of people who have a smartphone who want to do things that are actually very difficult to do on a smartphone. Like applying for a job, applying for benefits from the state, and even doing banking things that a lot of us – and I'm going to speak for myself as a middle-class person – take for granted, and we just assume that other people might be able to do it. But when you take a deep dive, they can't.”
She said they’ve given away laptops or tablets to people who did not have them.
“And when people say, 'what do you mean a library? A library is giving things away?' Well, we realized that to get somebody as an act, to become an active citizen, a digital citizen, you need to give them the device that's going to allow them to do it.”
And without federal funding, she said, all these services are doomed to go away.
“I find myself becoming very protective and fierce regarding ensuring that the freedom to read, learn, create, and think is being called un-American or unpatriotic,” she said. “Americans value their ingenuity and the belief that one can transcend their individual challenges. Public libraries are here to help any person live those values. It is wearisome, but I think of a quote from the second president of this country: ‘There are two kinds of people. Those who make commitments and those who keep them.’ Libraries have always been and always will be committed.”
Earlier this month, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 20 state attorneys general who are suing the Trump administration. They want to stop the administration's plan to reduce or eliminate three federal agencies that help support libraries, museums, workers, and minority-owned businesses.
