The Las Vegas-Clark County Library District is discontinuing its diversity program to comply with the Trump administration’s executive orders.
The district, which oversees 25 branches across Southern Nevada and serves 1.76 million people, told its employees Wednesday that it will discontinue its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility program, according to its executive director, Kelvin Watson.
“The Library District’s commitment to fostering a positive, respectful, and welcoming environment for our valued staff and customers remains unchanged,” Watson said in a statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order in January ending DEI programs in government. Since then, government agencies have started dismantling their diversity programs.
Over the next few weeks, the library district will take several actions, including dissolving the district’s DEIA Committee, which promotes diversity awareness and identifies barriers for employee recruitment and retention, among other responsibilities, according to its DEIA Action Plan.
It will also review the name of the district’s Youth Diversity Programming Committee, disconnect the DEIA section on its internal internet page, require the removal of pronouns from employees’ email signatures and remove DEIA references from job descriptions and postings, according to a Wednesday email sent to district staff obtained by the Review-Journal.
Watson said external legal counsel advised the district to make preemptive adjustments to ensure compliance with regulations regarding DEIA policies.
He stressed that no public programming, library materials or staff jobs will be affected and that the changes are to the library’s internal structures.
The Las Vegas-Clark County Library District is the recipient of “significant federal funding,” according to Watson.
Noncompliance with the Trump administration’s orders could put millions of dollars at risk, “creating a huge negative impact on our operations,” he said in the statement.
Current and former library employees expressed concern about the changes, claiming that less than 4 percent of the library district’s $88 million budget comes from federal funding.
“It’s disappointing, because it feels like it’s capitulating, especially when it’s not something that has a major impact on our ability to provide our services,” said an employee, who was granted anonymity to protect against potential retaliation from the district.
According to the district’s fiscal 2024 budget, which does not distinguish between state and federal grants, intergovernmental revenue accounts for 15 percent of the district’s budget. Federal funds pay for the Adult Basic Education literacy program, according to the budget.
While programs aren’t shutting down and will continue as normal, an employee expressed concern that the programs won’t be advertised or framed as being related to diversity. Language relating to diversity will be stripped out of the website, they said.
The library district’s DEIA program highlights the district’s “commitment to diversity,” according to its website, as it appeared Thursday. The page features books that celebrate diversity and focus on the Black diaspora and the Native American community.
Library staff will no longer be able to show displays of books specific to heritage months for different groups. If libraries want to display Latin writers or Asian American writers, the display will have to be worded differently, a library district employee said.
Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.
