The IMLS Public Library Survey: A National Asset at Risk

As the nation’s only think tank focused on libraries at the intersection of public policy, tax policy, and education policy, the EveryLibrary Institute relies on the Public Library Survey (PLS) as a cornerstone of our research and reporting.

With the release of the FY2023 PLS in August 2025, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has reaffirmed its statutory obligation to collect and publish this essential dataset, even amid disruptions caused by the March 14, 2025, Executive Order.

For our own research and policy work, the PLS provides the foundation for landmark publications like Funding Our Priorities: Comparisons of Public Library Funding and Services with Other Sectors in Post-COVID America, Building Literacy Skills Leads to Economic Growth, the Library Funding Map, and Public Library Survey Data: Some Answers, Many Questions. It also supports our ongoing collaboration since 2019 with the Freckle Project, helping to document and understand America’s reading habits and the central role of libraries. Without the PLS, this kind of longitudinal, comparative, and sector-specific analysis would be impossible.

The Public Library Survey is the only comprehensive national census of public libraries. With a 96.4% response rate, it allows libraries to benchmark themselves against peers, compare services across states, and forecast future needs. For Congress, the PLS is indispensable to the work of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, the Senate HELP Committee, and the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Labor, HHS, Education, and Related Agencies. For taxpayers, it ensures transparency about how public funds are invested in libraries and what results they deliver.

We extend our thanks to the dedicated IMLS staff, the contractors at the American Institutes for Research, and the state library agencies who worked under extraordinary circumstances to ensure the FY2023 PLS was completed. With thousands of libraries contributing data, this survey has value for every congressional district in the country.

The release of the FY2023 Public Library Survey should not obscure the precarious conditions under which it was produced. The undisputed findings of fact in the Rhode Island lawsuit make clear that the administration’s March 14, 2025, Executive Order sought to dismantle the Office of Research and Evaluation (ORE) within IMLS. The court record shows that ORE staff were put on administrative leave, and that no employees from ORE were among the twelve IMLS staff retained. Without court intervention requiring the administration to comply with the law, the production and release of the PLS would almost certainly have ended.

The findings also detail how over 1,000 IMLS grants were canceled in the wake of the Executive Order, and how grantmaking and program evaluation functions were suspended. This context underscores that the continuation of the PLS was not the result of normal operations, but of a legal requirement imposed by the courts. In fact, in June 2025, the non-partisan Government Accountability Office found that withholding funds from IMLS violated the Impoundment Control Act as it implemented an executive order directing it to reduce operations. FY2023 PLS data exists today not because the administration supported it, but because the law required it.

The implications are profound for libraries, museums, and archives. Without the PLS, there would be no comprehensive national dataset to demonstrate outcomes, benchmark services, or inform state and federal policy. Without judicial enforcement, there would be no one to enforce the administration's obligation to continue this work. The Rhode Island lawsuit, therefore, illustrates both the fragility of federal cultural data infrastructure under political pressure and the essential role of the judiciary in safeguarding statutory responsibilities.

The PLS is a national asset that empowers libraries, informs policymakers, and safeguards accountability. At the EveryLibrary Institute, we will continue to use this data to advance the research agenda for libraries and to make the case for why robust public investment in libraries matters for education, equity, and economic growth. As Congress approaches the end of the 2025 Fiscal Year, we urge our national advocacy network to intensify efforts to ensure that IMLS is fully funded and operational in FY2026.