The American Public Gardens Association joined a coalition of leading library, museum, and cultural organizations, and the nation’s largest labor union of cultural workers to file a friend-of-the-court brief in Rhode Island v. Trump, urging the First Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold an injunction against the administration’s attempt to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) through an Executive Order.
The coalition is represented by Democracy Forward and Miner, Barnhill & Galland, P.C.
The groups include the American Library Association, Association of Research Libraries, Association for Rural & Small Libraries, Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums, Urban Libraries Council, American Association for State and Local History, American Alliance of Museums, Association of Art Museum Directors, American Public Gardens Association, Association of Children’s Museums, Association of Science and Technology Centers, Association of Zoos & Aquariums, Association of Science Museum Directors, and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).
The brief includes the impact of grant cancellations at public gardens in Illinois and Arizona. The lawsuit, filed by 21 states attorney general, resulted in a preliminary injunction on May 13 that reversed the effect of the Order in the 21 states. Read more at AAM’s website.
IMLS is the federal agency that provides essential coordination, research, and funding for the nation’s libraries, museums, public gardens, aquariums, zoos, and other cultural institutions. The brief details how the Executive Order has already curtailed critical grantmaking, halted data collection, and left libraries and museums without the technical expertise needed to serve the public.
The brief highlights that IMLS grants and expertise enable libraries and museums to modernize, expand access, and preserve critical collections; and that cuts to IMLS staff and programs will have an out-sized impact on rural, low-income, and Tribal communities that rely on federal support. Dismantling IMLS would severely diminish access to information, education, and cultural resources. The brief urges the court to affirm the district court’s preliminary injunction, which keeps the agency operational while litigation continues.
While these cases continue in the court system, our priority as a field continues to be ensuring that Congress preserves federal funding and other support for museums in its Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) appropriations bills. One of the key arguments in the lawsuits is that the President cannot eliminate the agency and not use the funding appropriated to the agency without Congressional approval. Because of this, it’s critical that Congress continues to fund these agencies. See previous AAM Advocacy Alerts for ways to get involved.
