Top Ten Risk Management Exercises For Governing Boards of Libraries & Cultural Institutions During the 2025 Federal Shift

Question

Early 2025 has brought changes to stability of certain federal programs, funding, and governance. This instability is creating concern about access to grants, federal programs, and legal frameworks. What can our board do to address this?

Answer

2025 has INDEED started off with a great deal of instability to federal programs, funding, and governance. In this answer, we’ll call this phenomenon the “2025 Federal Shift.”[1]

Evaluating DEI Internship Programs

Question

Our organization has for many years now used a “DEI” internship program to bring people from under-represented communities into the library profession. With the new directives coming from the POTUS and various agencies in January 2025, should we stop this program?

Answer

Should your institution stop a program designed to attract people from populations under-represented in librarianship to librarianship? NO.[1]

Should your institution submit its DEI program for careful and routine evaluation for legal compliance and effectiveness? ALWAYS.