NASA To Shut Largest Library, "Toss Away" Books? What Space Agency's Head Said

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has hit out at the New York Times (NYT) over its report that the space agency's largest library at the Goddard Space Flight Center will be permanently closing, and books will be tossed away. The NYT report, published earlier this week, cited a NASA spokesperson who said the agency will review library holdings over the next two months, and some of the material will be stored in a government warehouse, while the remaining items will be tossed away.

However, NASA has now issued a clarification over the claims made by the newspaper.

NASA Hits Out At NYT Report

In a post on X, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman fact-checked the NYT. Isaacman said that the report did not fully reflect the context NASA shared. "At no point is NASA 'tossing out' important scientific or historical materials, and that framing has led to several other misleading headlines," Isaacman said.

"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 added.

NASA Shares Facts About Library Closure

Isaacman went to share a few facts about the closing of the library at the Goddard Space Flight Center. Isaacman said that the library at Goddard was closing as part of a long-planned facilities consolidation approved in 2022 under the previous administration led by Joe Biden.

Here's what NASA sent to this reporter when he originally reached out:

"As part of a Goddard-wide campus transformation effort, all in-person library services at Building 21 at the Greenbelt location were paused on Dec. 9, 2025. Those services include collection checkout…

— NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman (@NASAAdmin) January 2, 2026

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

The NASA administrator also added that the space agency always followed a deliberate process to evaluate materials, ensuring they were digitised, transferred to other libraries, or otherwise preserved for historical purposes.