Project 2025 — Why It’s a Threat to Our Libraries
What Is Project 2025
Project 2025 is a political blueprint created by The Heritage Foundation and more than 100 allied organizations to guide a future conservative presidential administration.
Their plan would centralize federal power, replace career professionals with political loyalists, and reshape public institutions, including those that protect free expression, education, and culture.
The 900 page document Mandate for Leadership spells out these changes in detail. Analysts warn it would create an imperial presidency and dismantle long standing checks and balances across the federal government.
Why It Matters for Public Libraries
Libraries depend on independence and neutrality to serve everyone. Project 2025’s agenda undermines that foundation in multiple ways.
Censorship and Criminalization of Librarians
Its authors describe public librarians and educators who share LGBTQ+ materials as “purveyors of pornography,” suggesting they should be treated as sex offenders. This would criminalize normal library work and chill free access to books.
Government Control Over Information
By concentrating executive power and eroding agency independence, the plan invites direct political influence over cultural and educational institutions, including local libraries and public media.
Defunding Public Media and Education
Project 2025 calls for cutting or restructuring programs like PBS, NPR, and the Department of Education, the very systems that promote literacy, learning, and access to ideas.
Attacks on LGBTQ+ and Diverse Voices
The document defines “pornography” so broadly that it could include books featuring queer characters, racial justice themes, or even basic health education.
Undermining the First Amendment
When the government decides which ideas are acceptable, libraries lose their ability to provide equal access and citizens lose their right to explore information freely.
Why It’s Harmful to Our Community
Garfield County’s libraries exist to serve everyone: children, parents, seniors, immigrants, and newcomers alike.
If an agenda like Project 2025 succeeds nationally, it could embolden local efforts to control library materials, punish librarians, or politicize trustee appointments.
That would silence voices, erase stories, and weaken the very institutions that keep communities informed and connected.
What We Can Do
1. Stay Informed
Learn what Project 2025 proposes and how similar policies have already targeted libraries across the United States.
2. Defend Local Library Independence
Watch for any attempt to shift trustee appointments or funding oversight into political hands. Attend meetings. Ask questions.
3. Speak Out and Educate
Write letters to the editor. Share facts at community events. Host discussions on library freedom and the First Amendment.
4. Support Protective Legislation
Colorado’s SB24 216 already strengthens public library protections statewide. Advocate for laws like it everywhere.
5. Vote and Organize
Local elections decide who appoints library boards and controls funding. Vote for leaders who support free and open access to information.
The Bottom Line
Project 2025 is not just a political plan, it is a direct threat to the principles that keep libraries free and open to everyone.
When those in power decide what books can be read, democracy itself is at risk.
Protect our libraries. Protect our right to read. Protect the First Amendment.
