Her visit to the Swedish Library Association in Stockholm coincides with the announcement that the Institute of Museum and Library Services will remain and will finally be able to distribute this year's federal grants to US museums and libraries.
The institute's fate had been uncertain since Donald Trump issued a presidential order to close it last year, but that order has now been withdrawn.
"It's wonderful, but it doesn't mean we'll get money next year," says Maria McCauley, explaining that the Trump administration is instead cutting appropriations in the 2027 budget.
"I think this is the sixth time this has happened. It's another example of how hard we have to fight."
Everyone called
While attorneys general in 21 states have pursued the legal process, the library's friends - the employees, volunteers and regular patrons - have called their congressional representatives, among others.
Maria McCauley talks about a great collective effort from authors, publishers and people who work in the arts and humanities.
"The message to everyone in the United States who loves libraries is that 'we have won this victory, but now we must pick up the phone and call our legislators again!'"
The federal funding is crucial, among other things, to be able to offer internet access to visitors, something that many American households still lack, she says.
American libraries are currently fighting on several fronts. At the state level, 60 lawsuits are underway against attempts to control library offerings. Young adult books in particular are being hit hard by groups that want to ban titles by authors such as Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison.
Censorship attempts
At the federal level, the American Library Association is also opposing the bill H.R. 7661, which critics say is yet another way to censor stories about LGBTQ people. The bill, which was recently approved by the House Education Committee, would allow schools to withdraw funding if their textbooks are deemed to contain "sexually explicit content" for children under the age of 10.
"It's very general and sweeping," says Maria McCauley.
But despite the many threats, she doesn't doubt for a second the survival of American libraries. The vulnerability has also led to strong popular support.
"Libraries are essential to democracy. They are a place where people are welcomed and can spend an entire day without having to pay a penny!"
School libraries were already in focus on page one of Project 2025, a 900-page document about how the United States will transform with Donald Trump as president, wrote Biblioteksbladet.
Project 2025 describes school libraries as a place where children are exposed to toxic normalization of transsexuality through encounters with drag queens and pornography.
A concrete proposal in the report is to cut funding to the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Ahead of the presidential election, Trump distanced himself from the contents of the report, which was, however, written by several of his former associates.
