With all Institute of Museum and Library Services having been placed on administrative leave and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners announcing cuts to services and grants on Wednesday, local librarians are anticipating continued uncertainty heading into fiscal year 2026.

Wednesday’s announcement outlining the MBLC cuts includes direct impacts in the Pioneer Valley, such as the loss of $93,000 in federal funds for Explore Grants that were awarded to 18 libraries, including $4,000 to Belchertown’s Swift River Library and $7,500 each to the South Hadley Public Library and Forbes Library in Northampton. Other cuts spell the elimination of 12 Perkins Access training sessions to increase library accessibility; training programs for library staff, trustees, Friends groups and foundations; and a grant to the Department of Correction and funding for the MBLC’s Manga Book Collection that has served libraries at county jails and departments of correction.

Compounding the changes at the state level is the March 31 announcement that all IMLS staff were placed on administrative leave, effective immediately. An April 1 statement from the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3403 union, which represents IMLS staff, said there was a brief meeting with Department of Government Efficiency employees and IMLS leadership, and staff were notified of their leave afterward.

An executive order issued by the White House on March 14 directed that seven agencies, including the IMLS, be “eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law,” including by reducing their operations and staffing. However, after this order was issued, Keith E. Sonderling was sworn in as acting director of the IMLS by President Donald Trump on March 20. Sonderling stated his goal as acting director would be to “revitalize” the agency.

Although the MBLC reports it has not received a notice of termination of its funding through the IMLS’ Grants to States program, which provides $3.6 million to the state agency and serves as the largest source of federal funding support for library services in the U.S., AFGE Local 3403 confirmed Wednesday that California, Connecticut and Washington have each received notice of termination of their state library grants.

Local libraries respond

The shifting grant landscape, cuts to training programs and administrative leave on the federal level have come as a surprise to Franklin County library directors.

“This is extremely unprecedented,” Montague Public Libraries Director Caitlin Kelley said about the changes at the IMLS. “Speaking for myself personally, I didn’t ever anticipate that [the IMLS] would ever really go away.”

With the changes at the IMLS, the Montague Public Library is in a waiting position, Kelley said, and she anticipates statewide discussions between library directors will start soon. For now, Kelley said there’s been some impact at the Montague Public Libraries, including the potential hold on $8,000 of a two-year, $15,000 grant from the Library Services and Technology Act. The grant funded a project titled “Beyond Library Walls — Serving Teens and Tweens,” which helps the Montague library work with The Brick House Community Resource Center to create mental health support programming for teens and tweens, and expand library materials on teen mental health.

As for the project in progress at the Carnegie Public Library through the MBLC’s Public Library Construction Program, the $100,000 grant for the planning phase, which is exploring either a library renovation or the creation of a new library at 38 Avenue A, remains in hand, Kelley confirmed.

While the Erving Public Library has received IMLS grants in the past, Library Director Abigail Baines said none are being used at this time. However, the Erving Public Library, as well as the Montague Public Libraries and more across the state, does benefit from programs that the IMLS funds and that can be accessed by patrons for free at their local libraries.

The Commonwealth Catalog, also called ComCat, allows for the sharing of materials between libraries, which the MBLC pays for. As for the MBLC’s statewide databases, 60% of average database usage comes from schools, and last year, there were more than 9 million downloads — an increase of 12% in just one year, MBLC Director Maureen Amyot explained in an interview Wednesday.

The IMLS spent $2.14 million on statewide databases for fiscal year 2025, according to MBLC Communications Director Celeste Bruno.

These free services are in high demand in Franklin County and the North Quabbin region, with Athol Public Library Director Jean Shaughnessy saying the library saw the circulation of 98,000 physical library materials last year, and 258,000 ebook downloads — a popular option for people who want access to books, but are unable to do so in person. The Athol facility serves as a regional hub for numerous North Quabbin communities and even out-of-state residents, with 5,149 Athol cardholders out of a total 6,681 cardholders.

Because Commonwealth Catalog and statewide databases are funded through the IMLS, local libraries are able to provide what would otherwise be expensive services for free. If the IMLS remains without staff and is functionally eliminated by the Trump administration, the cost burden to provide Commonwealth Catalog, statewide databases and other programs would fall to the Massachusetts agency, Amyot said.

“We allow every library to have equitable services,” she said. “It doesn’t matter where you live, what your ZIP code is, everybody has access, and we know how important that is in these times to have access to good information. That’s what I feel like our databases and our ebook platforms and our ComCat provide for everybody in the state.”

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.