Statement on the firing of Carla Hayden and HLA's Concerns about Hawaiʻi's Shifting Landscape

by The HLA Board

HLA is concerned about the firing of Dr. Carla Hayden by the current Administration. Dr. Hayden was the first African American Librarian of Congress, who was hired in 2016. She was targeted by a conservative group for circulating what they called “radical” perspectives. But Hayden connected her purpose at the Library of Congress as an opportunity to represent broader views of history and knowledge, as a descendant of African Americans.  Moreover, Shira Perlmutter, the Register of Copyrights, was also dismissed. Her office played a vital role in guiding the nation’s understanding of artificial intelligence and intellectual property. These acts resonate with the firing of Dr. Colleen Shogan, the National Archivist of the U.S., earlier this year. HLA is concerned about the firing of qualified information professionals from the highest library and archival institutions in the U.S.  These professions require a high degree of professional ethics and neutrality in their practice in order to protect intellectual freedom and public trust in government.

Meanwhile, we are seeing efforts to dismantle the Institute for Library and Museum Services and the National Endowment for the Humanities. These actions are already impacting us at the state level.

Next Steps
What can you do now? By May 16, we encourage you to write or call our Congressional Delegation to press for 2026 federal funding for public and school libraries. This resource, the Dear Appropriator Letter to fund libraries for FY 2026, will help you speak up for 2026 funding for the Library Services and Technology Act and the Innovative Approaches to Libraries grants. Share how your library is an invaluable resource for our community. 

Next, if you want to know what is being done locally, join the online HLA Spring Meeting on Saturday May 31, 2025 from 11-3pm. This will be an opportunity to discuss these issues with our community. By sharing our experiences from different vantage points, we can find the hope in one another to move forward as a profession. ʻAʻohe hana nui ke alu ʻia. No task is too big when done together by all. 

Hawaiʻi's Shifting Landscape
We also witness the local impacts of the shifts in current federal priorities and want to highlight how Hawaiʻi librarians and supporters are responding.

• Academic Libraries
  Early this year, some library workers were told to scrub their websites of any terms related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Federal funding cuts have closed down academic research programs across the University of Hawaiʻi (UH) System. The UH Library Council wrote a letter to President Hensel about their concerns if the U.S. Federal Government tries to cull UH Library collections. At that time, President Hensel responded that she did not see any activity on this issue, but her team would remain vigilant. Later, UH President Hensel participated in a letter with the American Association of Colleges and Universities opposing unprecedented government overreach and political interference in higher education, and a follow-up Community Letter Reaffirming the Independence of Higher Education Governance: A Call to Action.
  
  
• School Libraries
  According to Hawaiʻi Association of School Librarians’ research analyzing Hawaiʻi State Department of Education data in Fall 2023, school libraries and school librarian positions have been underfunded since 2010. This year, the Hawaiʻi Library Association Advocacy Committee helped spread the word about HB 961, a bill to fund two school librarian positions, one for an Oʻahu school complex and the other for a neighbor island school complex. By the end of this 2025 legislative session, the conference committee funded this project with $132,800 for full-time librarians, effective July 2025. While we are proud of this victory, we also heed Senator Mazie Hirono’s sobering report to the Hawaiʻi State Teacherʻs Association on what educators and unions should continue to work on--communication, litigation, legislation, and oversight--given the current Administration’s desire to dismantle the Department of Education. 
  
  
• Public Libraries
  The Institute of Museum and Library Service (IMLS) has also experienced significant cuts, affecting funds that public libraries depend on for programs and technology access services. The American Library Association (ALA) has been communicating to state chapters on what to do if Federal Grants are canceled. ALA has partnered with AFSCME in litigation against the Executive Order to dismantle the IMLS, which is a Congressionally funded and appointed entity. The office of the Hawaiʻi Attorney General is part of a coalition of other attorney generals across the U.S. in litigation to block President Trump’s order to dismantle the IMLS. 

-Hawaiʻi Library Association Board