MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Workers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland are still struggling after workforce cuts last year. Now they're also grieving the loss of a beloved library that closed this week. NPR's Katia Riddle is covering this. Hey there, Katia.
KATIA RIDDLE, BYLINE: Hi, Mary Louise.
KELLY: So I want to get to the library in just a second, but set the stage first, 'cause I know you've spent a lot of time these last few months reporting on all kinds of things happening at Goddard.
RIDDLE: That's right. Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland is a flagship campus for NASA. It's been a hub of innovation and scholarship for the agency for decades. Think of projects like the James Webb Space Telescope or Hubble Space Telescope. Like other federal agencies under the Trump administration, NASA saw reductions in staff. By some estimates, Goddard lost about a third of what their staff once was. Now it's down to about 6,600 people. Since those reductions, management has been working to close buildings and laboratories on campus. That includes the campus library. NASA administrator Jared Isaacman calls this part of a long-planned, quote, "transformation."
KELLY: A transformation. Do staff like this transformation? What did they say about it?
RIDDLE: Well, for this story, I talked to five people who work at Goddard or recently left. Two of them agreed to be named by NPR. Three spoke to me on the condition of anonymity because they're fearful of losing their jobs. That's in addition to previous reporting on this subject. Staff I've talked to stressed that it's not a transformation because they've been given no reassurances that important spaces like the library will be replaced or rehabilitated. They also described the effort as chaotic and unorganized. One person used the word cruel.
People recount things like specialized laboratories being dismantled with little notice and laboratory equipment hastily moved. Staff say these efforts have thrown sand in the gears of their work and really damaged morale, which was already low after losing so many colleagues in the reduction. And the library, especially, is a beloved place.
KELLY: OK, tell me why.
RIDDLE: Well, staff talk about spending time there collaborating with colleagues, doing research or accessing documents really unique to NASA. I spoke with Dave Williams. He's a planetary scientist who retired recently after working there for more than 30 years. And he says he spent thousands of hours in the library.
DAVE WILLIAMS: And we have a database covering all the missions and everything that's flown back all the way back to Sputnik, actually.
RIDDLE: Williams said that historical records of NASA's previous missions are immensely helpful in informing current work and, since they're not necessarily digitized, they're not available anywhere else.
WILLIAMS: If you don't go back and look at these old missions, you can end up making the same mistakes that you made in missions in the first place.
KELLY: OK, you're helping us understand the value of this library. Why then is it being dismantled?
RIDDLE: Well, some in Congress say it's part of a broader effort from the Trump administration to shrink NASA. I talked to Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland. He stressed that it's up to him and his colleagues to restore bipartisan support for Goddard, especially looking towards the 2026 budget.
CHRIS VAN HOLLEN: I think that will send a very clear signal that we intend for Goddard to continue its pioneering missions.
KELLY: But meanwhile, what happens to the library? What happens to all this specialized data that it was holding?
RIDDLE: Well, it's unclear what will happen to it. I did reach out to NASA and Goddard officials. They declined an interview request. They directed me to a statement from NASA administrator Jared Isaacman. He downplayed concerns and said that people at Goddard will continue to have access to digital content and books via the federal interlibrary loan process, as well as help from librarians. He says nothing will be thrown out without formal consideration. But people like planetary scientist Dave Williams say they're not reassured, and they're fearful of what kind of invaluable data and resources could be lost and never recovered.
KELLY: That is science correspondent Katia Riddle. Thank you.
RIDDLE: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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