Attacks on Library and Museum Funding Threaten Our Jobs and Our Future
The recent decision by the Trump administration to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is more than just about budget cuts —it’s a direct attack on the workers who educate, inform, and inspire our communities every single day. AFSCME Council 5 proudly represents workers at the University of Minnesota / Minitex, the Science Museum of Minnesota, and other library institutions across our state that will be directly impacted by these cuts and we are raising the alarm on the devastating consequences of these cuts. We are prepared to fight back with everything we’ve got.
The IMLS is the main source of federal funding for libraries and museums across the country. In 2023 alone, it provided over $250 million in grants to fuel information-sharing, expand access, and preserve our shared knowledge. But now, those critical funds are on the chopping block. And in Minnesota, that means thousands of students, families, workers, researchers, and everyday people will lose access to resources they need and depend on.
It also means layoffs. Real people. Real lives. Real consequences.
Interlibrary Loan Services at the University of Minnesota Are in Jeopardy
AFSCME Council 5 Executive Director Bart Andersen said, “One of the most immediate and damaging impacts will be to Minitex, the interlibrary loan program based at the University of Minnesota, where the workers who carry out these services are represented by our union. Minitex is the backbone of library resource-sharing across Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas—connecting people with the books, journals, archives, and tools they need to learn, grow, thrive, and gain skills and employment.”
Elizabeth Loetscher is a union member of AFSCME Local 3800 and has worked as a Library Assistant II in the Research Sharing Department for the last 5 years, saying, “Federal cuts threaten to slash nearly 20% of Minitex’s budget and nearly 40% of the Resource Sharing Department by June 30, 2025. That means our entire interlibrary loan systems could collapse and leave workers, students, and our community members without critical resources,” said Elizabeth. “It means students won't be able to complete their research. It means rural communities could lose access to books and learning tools. And it means the dedicated union workers like all of us who keep these systems running are facing pink slips. This cannot become our reality,” she continued.
Josh Borreson is has worked as a Library Assistant II in the Resource Sharing Department for the last 6 years and facilitates interlibrary loan requests and conducts and lending processes with a wide variety of institutions like counties, cities, hospitals, schools, et.al.
"Libraries are unique institutions where there are not a lot of organizations in own our world that provide free and equitable access to information and tools and resources and we need to maintain this free and equitable system. Minnesota’s interlibrary loan program is incredible and nation-leading that is free of charge to all resident in our state, where other states may charge residents fees to keep these services,” they said.
On April 1, 2025 AFSCME held our annual Day on the Hill event where we advocated for countless issues at the Capitol, including the funding needed to keep Minitex workers on the job. As AFSCME Local 3800 President Max Vast said, “AFSCME Day on the Hill was an invaluable moment for our University of Minnesota siblings to come together and stand up and fight for our shared priorities like fully funded budgets that directly benefit the workers and fighting back against the Administration (both the one D.C. and in Eastcliff, the mansion the U of M President resides)."
Vast continued, “Our union has been a comforting place in the midst of great uncertainty faced by our union leaders and members where we can lean on one another and back each other up as we are under attack.
The Science Museum of Minnesota Could Face Harmful Impacts, Too
Our union members at the Science Museum of Minnesota are still recovering from the financial strain of the pandemic and an employer who dragged their feet in reaching a first contract with our union members for more than 550 days. Now, with IMLS grants being eliminated, more workers may soon be out of a job—and educational programming could be slashed even further.
This is not just a loss for our union members—it’s a loss for every person who walks into that museum wide-eyed and curious about the world.
We’re Fighting Back
Minnesota lawmakers have introduced legislation HF 2840 and SF 2729 to try and fill the funding gap created by these cruel federal cuts, save our workers’ jobs, and protect the services our community members need in the metro and Greater MN and in surrounding states. This legislation would appropriate over $8 million annually from the state’s general fund to support Minitex and other essential library services.
This is a step in the right direction—but it will only happen if we stand united and fight for it.
AFSCME members are showing up. We’re testifying. We’re organizing. We’re holding press conferences and calling legislators. And we’re reminding our elected leaders of this simple truth: When we fight, we win!
Everything is at Stake
Bart Andersen continued, “Our members’ livelihoods are absolutely at stake with the countless disastrous decisions made by the federal government. And this latest action is about the soul of our public institutions and an attack on free and equitable access knowledge itself. Libraries and museums are not luxuries. They are engines of democracy, equity, education, and opportunity for all! They are easily accessible places of hope and safety. Cutting them is a choice to turn our backs on the values we claim to uphold and we will fight these attacks.”
Josh Borreson continued, “We will not allow these cuts to go unnoticed. We will not allow our members to be cast aside. And we will not stop fighting until every worker is protected and every community has the resources it needs to thrive.”
Stand with us. Call your lawmakers. Share the stories. Raise your voice.
“When they come for our libraries and museums, they come for all of us—and we will meet them with unity, resistance, and power,” Elizabeth said. “And an injury to one is an injury to all and we are calling on our fellow union members and allies to take action with us!”
Tell your State Lawmakers to support the passage of HF 2840 / SF 2729. And call your Federal Lawmakers and urge them to reinstate funding for the IMLS.
