NASA Rejects NYT Claim On Library Closure, Says No Scientific Material Will Be Discarded

Last Updated:January 03, 2026, 17:47 IST

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman also explained the background behind the decision to close the Goddard library.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman (Credits: Reuters)

The Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has pushed back against a report by The New York Times which claimed that the space agency’s largest library would shut down permanently and that its books would be thrown away.

The report, published earlier this week, focused on the planned closure of the library at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. It quoted a NASA spokesperson as saying that library materials would be reviewed over the next two months, with some items moved to a government storage facility while others would be discarded.

NASA has since issued a clarification, saying the report created a misleading impression.

In a post on X, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the newspaper’s account did not fully reflect what the agency had communicated.

“At no point is NASA ‘tossing out’ important scientific or historical materials, and that framing has led to several other misleading headlines," Isaacman said.

He added that the focus should instead be on NASA’s future plans.

“This is unfortunate at a time when the world should be energized by a plan to send NASA astronauts farther into space than ever before and return us to the lunar environment with a commitment to stay, alongside historic investments in an orbital economy and a renewed pursuit of science and discovery," he said.

Isaacman also explained the background behind the decision to close the Goddard library. According to him, the move is part of a facilities consolidation plan that was approved in 2022 under the previous US administration led by Joe Biden.

He stressed that the closure does not mean an end to access to scientific resources.

“NASA researchers will continue to have access to the scientific information and resources they need to do their work," Isaacman said.

The NASA chief further noted that the agency follows a careful process when reviewing library collections. Materials are assessed before decisions are made to digitise them, move them to other libraries, or preserve them for historical reasons.

NASA said the aim of the process is to modernise access to information while ensuring that valuable scientific and historical content remains protected, countering claims that important material would simply be discarded.

News world NASA Rejects NYT Claim on Library Closure, Says No Scientific Material Will Be Discarded

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