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20h ago

NASA Defends Goddard Library Consolidation as Review Begins After Closure

The agency says a 60-day assessment under a 2022 facilities plan will preserve significant records.

The Trump administration is shutting down NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's library — NASA's largest — and threatening to destroy books.
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In a photo from NASA Goddard, an open house event at the NASA Goddard Information and Collaboration Center in Greenbelt, Md, May 2017. The Trump administration is closing NASA’s largest research library on Friday, Jan. 1, 2026, a facility that houses tens of thousands of books, documents and journals — many of them not digitized or available anywhere else. The works will be warehoused or thrown out. (NASA Goddard via The New York Times) — NO SALES; FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY
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Overview

  • Reports of the Jan. 2 shutdown quoted a NASA spokesperson saying holdings would be reviewed over two months with some items stored and others discarded.
  • Administrator Jared Isaacman and spokesperson Bethany Stevens said important scientific or historical materials will not be thrown out and described the move as consolidation rather than a simple closure.
  • NASA cites an ongoing reorganization that targets 13 buildings and more than 100 labs at Goddard by March 2026, projecting $10 million in annual savings and $63.8 million in deferred maintenance avoided.
  • Coverage notes seven NASA libraries have closed since 2022, with only the Glenn, Ames and JPL libraries remaining open, as Goddard’s workforce has fallen to about 6,600 from more than 10,000.
  • Lawmakers including Sen. Chris Van Hollen criticized the actions, and staff and union statements warned that non-digitized archives and specialized equipment could be at risk without careful handling.