NASA’s largest library closes amid staff and laboratory cuts
NASA’s largest research library at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, will close this Friday. The facility holds tens of thousands of unique books, documents, and journals, dating from the early 20th century to the Soviet-American space race. Due to agency reorganization, many materials will either be warehoused or discarded.
Source The New York Times
The library closure is part of a broader restructuring under the Trump administration, which includes shutting down 13 buildings and over 100 science and engineering laboratories on the 1,270-acre campus by March 2028. NASA spokesman Jacob Richmond explained that the holdings will be reviewed over the next 60 days, with some stored in government warehouses and others properly disposed of according to federal guidelines.
This development raises concerns within the scientific community about the potential loss of valuable archives and irreplaceable knowledge sources, which could impact future research and historical understanding of the space era. The library’s fate will significantly affect the preservation of NASA’s scientific legacy.
