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America's biggest literary publishers are concerned about the future of America's libraries.

In a letter to Congress sent April 3, Hachette Book Group, Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Random House, and Simon & Schuster all cosigned a letter headed to Congress, urging the government to protect the Institute of Museum and Library Services, or IMLS, which is the federal agency responsible for distributing the funds that keep libraries open. Publisher's Weekly broke the news.

"Defunding libraries would result in mass closures and the destruction of a system that today benefits millions of Americans," says the letter, which addresses President Donald Trump's recent executive order instructing the IMLS to shut down. The above publishers join a cacophony of voices, including library advocacy nonprofit EveryLibrary and millions of American citizens, in calling for the executive order to be "rejected."

"Allowing the IMLS to be defunded," the letter continues, "and thus to disappear, would leave millions of Americans without access to the books, tools, and other resources required to participate in the modern world. [...] Shuttering IMLS would be an act of monumental neglect, violating the very foundation of America and what it stands for as a country. It would undermine the tenets of our democracy and our citizens’ right to read, think, and learn freely."

Popverse is covering this story and will report on further developments.

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