When a President Says “I Don't Believe in Building Libraries”

Earlier this year, President Trump made headlines when he was asked what shape he wanted his presidential library to take—a presidential library traditionally serves as a repository for documents and information generated during a president’s time in office. Instead of describing a space dedicated to historic preservation and public learning, Trump said, “I don’t believe in building libraries,” and indicated that he would prefer this symbol of his federal legacy to resemble one of his hotels.

Rather than functioning as an archive of his administration, his proposed library appears poised to reflect the same values that have shaped his public brand: spectacle over substance and architecture designed to impress rather than inform. 

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, recognizing the importance of preserving presidential records and ensuring public access to them, established the concept of a presidential library in the late 1930s. Almost a century later, Trump’s comments highlight an inflection point where the openness and transparency of this established system may be under pressure from federal leaders who have repeatedly signaled skepticism toward the role libraries play in public life.

None of this comes as a surprise to anyone who’s been paying attention. We never needed overt declarations of apathy and disinterest from the president to piece together his administration's stance on libraries. The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)—the agency responsible for directing hundreds of millions of dollars in essential funding to libraries and museums nationwide—has been squarely in their crosshairs for years.

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When the IMLS worked to provide funding that keeps children reading, interlibrary loans circulating, and library doors open, Trump-appointed officials were busy trying to close minds, restrict access to information, and narrow American opportunity by undermining the agency itself. As with so many of their attempts to sabotage institutions that support public knowledge, this latest effort to dismantle the IMLS has failed. But given the pattern, it’s a safe assumption that more attempts are on the horizon.

Why would this administration not believe in libraries and their construction in favor of something like a hotel? Libraries are hard to build and to build upon. They are not flashy, and they rarely stand out in ways that are easy to recognize. What happens inside them—the everyday work of librarians and the quiet, meaningful interactions with patrons—is understated by nature. No one calls a press conference to celebrate their library's new makerspace or its summer reading program attendance, even though those initiatives have the power to change lives for the better.

Librarians are often underpaid and their skills undervalued, and when they leave their jobs—increasingly due to pressures from partisan agitators—the community feels the loss. Libraries rarely close their doors for good, but they can be hollowed out from within. They are resilient, but they are staffed by humans who have endured this continuous assault on the profession for years, and exhaustion eventually sets in. Whether starved of funds through governmental interference or deprived of staff who decide librarianship has become too stressful in the current climate, libraries can lose the ability to provide anything beyond the most basic services. Once this happens, the damage is difficult to reverse.

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It is clear, from this statement and from the ongoing actions of the president and his administration, that they will continue to work on dismantling the federal library apparatus to any extent they can. The comment about not believing in libraries fits into a broader pattern of skepticism toward institutions that preserve public records, support transparency, and ensure access to information.

If they refuse to acknowledge what libraries do for Americans, then it is up to us to continue to be their advocates. Libraries remain essential community institutions, and in a time of rising economic hardship, the free services they offer are more important than ever. 

One of the most effective ways to support libraries is by making your voice heard. Email your representatives today to remind them how vital library funding and services are to your community.

Visit www.everylibrary.org to learn more about our work on behalf of libraries. 

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