Supporters of the reorganization argue that digital access to research materials and centralized storage make physical

The permanent closure of NASA’s largest library at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland marks the end of a six-decade-long chapter in the agency’s scientific history. Scheduled to shut its doors on January 2, the library has served as a cornerstone of research and institutional memory since it was established in 1959, supporting generations of scientists, engineers, and mission planners who shaped America’s space program.

For decades, the Goddard library functioned as far more than a traditional reading space. It was a technical backbone for mission development, housing specialized journals, engineering manuals, mission archives, and rare scientific texts that informed some of NASA’s most transformative projects. Among the missions that benefited from its resources were the Hubble Space Telescope, which revolutionized astronomy, and the James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful space observatory ever built.

The library’s extensive collection—estimated at nearly 100,000 volumes—is now being dismantled. According to Jacob Richmond, a NASA spokesperson, the agency will spend the next two months reviewing the materials to determine what can be retained. Selected items will be transferred to a federal government storage facility, but a large portion of the collection will be permanently discarded.

Richmond explained that the disposal process follows long-standing federal asset management protocols. “This process is an established method used by federal agencies to properly dispose of federally owned property,” he said, stressing that the actions comply with administrative guidelines. However, critics argue that procedural compliance does little to address the loss of irreplaceable scientific knowledge.

Concerns over the scale of the dismantling intensified after a statement from the Goddard Engineers, Scientists and Technicians Association, which revealed that the closures extend beyond books and documents. According to the group, specialized testing equipment and custom electronics used for spacecraft validation have already been removed from the site and discarded, raising alarms about the irreversible loss of highly specialized tools developed over decades.

The shutdown of the Goddard library is not an isolated decision. It forms part of a sweeping reorganization initiative launched during the Donald Trump administration, aimed at consolidating federal research infrastructure. Under this plan, 13 NASA buildings and more than 100 science and engineering laboratories are slated for closure by March 2026, dramatically reshaping the physical footprint of the agency

Since 2022, NASA has already closed seven libraries across the United States, with three of those closures occurring in 2025 alone. The accelerating pace of these shutdowns has fueled growing unease among researchers, who warn that eliminating physical research centers risks eroding institutional continuity and weakening collaboration across disciplines.

The political response has been swift and sharply divided. Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat representing Maryland, has emerged as one of the most vocal critics of the move. He accused the administration of targeting NASA Goddard and its workforce in a way that threatens America’s leadership in space science and Earth observation.

“The Trump Administration has spent the last year attacking NASA Goddard and its workforce,” Van Hollen said, adding that the closures jeopardize efforts to explore space, expand understanding of Earth’s climate systems, and drive technological breakthroughs that strengthen both the economy and national security. He pledged to continue pushing back against what he described as a careless and short-sighted approach to scientific infrastructure.

Supporters of the reorganization argue that digital access to research materials and centralized storage make physical libraries increasingly unnecessary. Critics, however, counter that many of the Goddard library’s resources—including annotated mission documents, legacy engineering data, and obsolete but historically vital formats—cannot be easily digitized or replaced.

As the doors of NASA’s largest library close, scientists and engineers fear that the loss extends far beyond a single building. For many within the space agency, the Goddard library represented decades of accumulated expertise—knowledge built mission by mission, problem by problem. Its closure, they warn, symbolizes a broader shift away from preserving the foundations upon which future discoveries depend.  

By Advik  Gupta