July 30, 2024. EveryLibrary Institute has released a new report about Project 2025, the 900-page document released by Heritage Foundation. Project 2025 is broadly seen as a roadmap for the next Republican administration and has deep implications for libraries across the nation. In its opening sections, the Project 2025 report is filled with allegations of criminal conduct by librarians, publishers, authors, and educators and argues in favor of criminal charges and incarceration.
Heritage Foundation Continues Call for Closure of the Institute of Museums and Library Services (IMLS)
The Heritage Foundation has previously called for the closure of the Institute of Museums and Library Services (IMLS), the only source of federal funding for public libraries and state libraries. In Blueprints dating back to the mid-2010s, the Heritage Foundation states that Congress should have no role in ensuring that libraries are strong and available to everyone.
Project 2025 Could Dismantle K-12 Public Education and Libraries As Well
In addition to these dramatic reductions in library funding, Project 2025 would also dismantle much of what makes K-12 public education the great leveler of American society. From proposals to eliminate the Department of Education and phase out Title I support for the poorest of schools to scaling back Civil Rights enforcement in the name of parents' rights, American education would be unrecognizable within a few years and set our children back for decades.
Project 2025 advocates for increased censorship and threatens criminal penalties on educators to discourage school librarians from providing diverse materials and limit student access to comprehensive educational resources.
"Project 2025 simply cannot be made reality," said John Chrastka, the Executive Director of EveryLibrary Institute. "Voters and library proponents must put their full support behind our libraries at this time. Sign the petition, download the report, donate, vote. Project 2025 would be devastating. It's up to us to stop this from happening."
Top-level findings of the Project 2025 report are:
- Project 2025 would make public schools even more dangerous for LGBTQIA+ students, allowing them to be discriminated against and marginalized by insisting on a strict definition of one's "sex."
- Amendments to Title IX would define "sex" under Title IX to mean only biological sex recognized at birth; and strengthen protections for faith-based educational institutions, programs while rescinding the Biden administration's expansion
- of Title IX protections.
- Project 2025 looks to radically alter programs like Title I funding, which support low-income students. The reduction and eventual elimination of Title I funds would disproportionately impact schools in low-income areas.
- Project 2025 proposes significant changes to higher education that align with a broader reactionary agenda to reduce federal oversight and funding. These changes have the potential to reshape the landscape of higher education, with substantial implications for academic institutions, students, and the quality of education.
Unfortunately, the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 is not written in a vacuum. It is consistent with their annual budget priorities, including the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
Please watch for additional information about Project 2025 on the EveryLibrary Institute website.
About EveryLibrary Institute
The EveryLibrary Institute is a library think tank and professional network that is focused on improving and supporting the future of library funding in the United States and abroad. Our primary work is to create effective programs, original research, and relevant training programs that enable public libraries to serve their diverse communities and school libraries to create equity in education. Please visit http://everylibraryinstitute.org