Libraries Warn Federal Cuts Could Undo Digital Inclusion Gains

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 31, 2025 — National and state library officials warned that federal efforts to eliminate the Institute of Museum and Library Services could unravel hard-won progress in digital inclusion, leaving libraries without stable funding for broadband, devices, and workforce training.

At a Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition panel here, speakers said libraries remained the nation’s most reliable digital access points, providing Wi-Fi, computers, and guidance in communities still outside commercial broadband reach. 

Megan Janicki, deputy director of public policy and advocacy at the American Library Association, said the IMLS’s Library Services and Technology Act delivered more than $200 million annually to state agencies that sustain local technology programs. She said the White House’s proposal to abolish the agency had created “an atmosphere of uncertainty” for libraries that depended on those grants for connectivity and staff support.