Library Agency Reinstates Grants Canceled by Trump Administration; The New York Times, December 5, 2025

Jennifer Schuessler , The New York Times; Library Agency Reinstates Grants Canceled by Trump Administration

[Kip Currier: Restoration of Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grants for libraries, archives, and museums -- cut earlier this year by Trump 2.0 -- is good news for people throughout the country whose lives are enriched by these vital institutions and community anchors.

What does it say about an administration that eliminates support for libraries, archives, and museums that provide free access to thousands of books and summer reading programs, historical records and exhibits, and life-enhancing programs like job seeking and AI literacy, but which will pump millions and millions of dollars into the building of a White House ballroom that no one voted for and only the very wealthiest will ever have access to?]

[Excerpt]

"The federal agency that supports the nation’s libraries has restored thousands of grants canceled by the Trump administration, following a federal judge’s ruling that the executive order mandating the cuts was unlawful.

The executive order, issued in March, said the Institute for Museum and Library Services, along with six other small agencies, must “be reduced to the maximum extent consistent with the applicable law.” Soon after, the agency put most of its staff of 70 on administrative leave, fired its board members and began informing grant recipients that their federal funding had been eliminated.

In April, the attorneys general of 21 states filed a lawsuit arguing that the cuts, which included roughly $160 million in funding for state library agencies, violated federal law.

John J. McConnell Jr., the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, ruled in their favor on Nov. 21, calling the administration’s moves “arbitrary and capricious.” Canceling funding appropriated by Congress, he said, violated the doctrine of separation of powers.

This week, the agency announced the restoration of “all federal grants” in a terse post on its website. The post made no reference to the court ruling."

ARE THE CREATIVE COMMONS PUBLIC DOMAIN TOOLS FIT-FOR-PURPOSE IN THE CULTURAL HERITAGE SECTOR?; Creative Commons, February 23, 2023

Creative Commons; ARE THE CREATIVE COMMONS PUBLIC DOMAIN TOOLS FIT-FOR-PURPOSE IN THE CULTURAL HERITAGE SECTOR?

A Creative Commons Needs Assessment Report

"EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

To obtain a clearer picture of the use and understanding of Creative Commonsʼ (CC) public domain tools in the cultural heritage sector, in light of the diverse barriers1 facing cultural heritage institutions (CHIs) in opening up their collections, we performed a needs assessment with a view to developing a set of recommendations to ensure CCʼs tools continue to be relevant and meet the sectorʼs needs. From 1 January (Public Domain Day2) to 15 February 2022, we ran a multilingual online survey using Google Forms to share a 50-question questionnaire in English, French and Spanish.

With hundreds of responses to 50 questions, our survey provides us with ample information. While it is beyond the scope of this brief report to provide in-depth analysis of all the results, we highlight key findings that hold the potential to inform our community about the state of open culture and the role that CC public domain tools might play in supporting it. Hereʼs a brief summary of key findings:"