Latest news with #IMLS-funded
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State librarian now hopes to receive Vermont's full share of federal support for libraries
Vermont libraries got some good news at the end of April when the state Department of Libraries learned it would receive a partial Grants to States Award from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) in the amount of $622,179, according to State Librarian Catherine Delneo. "This is a positive outcome as the Grants to States award from IMLS comprises 1/3 of the Department's total budget and is essential to the services the Department provides statewide," Delneo said in an email to the Burlington Free Press. The Free Press reported on March 27 that federal funding for the state's libraries was threatened by the Trump Administration's slashing of budgets for federal agencies, including IMLS. About two weeks later, Hannah Kirkpatrick, a recent University of Vermont graduate with a master's degree in history, lost her IMLS-funded job helping Vermont's numerous local historical societies get ready for the 250th anniversary of the founding of the country by establishing their priorities for their collections and energizing their communities to help ensure the continuing preservation of local history. Please enable Javascript to view this content. Delneo said she received another update from IMLS staff on Wednesday, May 5, saying that while their final appointment has not yet been issued by the Office of Management and Budget, "we do plan to issue the remainder of the FY 2025 awards to the states, which will bring them to levels similar to last year's allotments." "The Department is hopeful that it will ultimately receive the full expected Grants to States allotment from IMLS in the amount of $1.24M, which was Vermont's 2024 Grants to States allotment," Delneo said. Contact Dan D'Ambrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosio@ Follow him on Twitter @DanDambrosioVT. This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont's federal funding for libraries looks like it will come through
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hanford Mills is hit by federal cost-cutting
Federal budget freezes have hit a local museum. According to a news release from Hanford Mills Museum, museum officials learned late Wednesday, April 9, from the Institute of Museum and Library Services that Hanford's two IMLS-funded grants had been terminated, effective April 8. "The grants totaled $238,475 ($82,516 of which not yet disbursed) of essential funding for programs offered to area visitors, residents and children and the preservation of items and information with local historical significance," a news release from the museum stated. The termination letters, signed by acting IMLS director Keith Sonderling, state that 'IMLS has determined that your grant is unfortunately no longer consistent with the agency's priorities and no longer serves the interest of the United States and the IMLS Program.' Hanford Mills Museum, in East Meredith, preserves an operational water- and steam-powered sawmill and gristmill as well as a historic manufacturing, retail and agricultural site. With a staff of five full time employees and some part-time employees, the museum "offers 3-4 special events, serves thousands of visitors, and provides over 250 educational programs to area schools each year," the release stated. IMLS had awarded HMM two grants for multi-year projects to help complete critical work that would enhance their service to the public: one to improve the management and care of its historic objects to ensure that they last for current and future generations (2022-2025), and the other to create an interpretive master plan informed by community participation that would guide the museum's activities into the future (2024-2026), the release stated. With the termination, the museum loses $34,187 that was already allocated to cover work on these projects in 2025. That means about 8% of the museum's total budget for the year has been unexpectedly cut, according to the release. One of the grant projects included a professional development workshop that was open to other local museums, and that training will now be canceled. 'This unfortunate news arrived as I returned from the annual conference of the Museum Association of New York,' Executive Director Kajsa Harley said. 'I had just heard many stories of canceled federal funds from colleagues across the state. Ours is one of hundreds of similar situations unfolding across the country right now, in rural communities and cities alike.' IMLS awarded the grants to Hanford Mills after a competitive process "that acknowledged HMM's outstanding integrity and interpretive work among small historic sites," the release stated. Grant applications are awarded based on review not only by IMLS agency staff, but also by panels of museum professionals from across the country "who understand the nature of the field's work, the need for museums to directly serve the public, and the measurable positive impacts museums have on local economies and community preservation," the release stated. Most museums and libraries have to match every federal dollar they receive with money from their own operating budgets in order to get the funding support, according to the release. 'The impact of these federal grants far exceed investment, both in terms of public education and enrichment and what museums contribute to their local economies as tourism drivers and employers,' Harley said. 'As a small rural museum, we stretched every dollar from this federal funding so that we could do our best work in providing fantastic programs and preserving the site and our historic artifacts. We leverage grants like these to help us with our efforts to provide low-cost or no-cost experiences to local families, visitors to the area and our neighboring schools.' Despite the funding terminations, "HMM remains committed to its mission to inspire audiences of all ages to explore connections among energy, technology, natural resources, and entrepreneurship in rural communities," the release stated. 'The work that museums and libraries do is essential to our communities,' Harley said. 'Our hope is that our communities value our work enough to support us, financially, of course, but also as ambassadors who are willing to advocate for us to state and federal officials.'
Axios
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Axios
How federal cuts could impact San Antonio museums, libraries
Museums and libraries in San Antonio could lose critical funding under a Trump administration plan to shut down the agency that supports them. Why it matters: The cultural institutions rely on federal money to meet their mission. Catch up quick: In a March 14 executive order, President Trump named the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) as one of seven agencies that should be "eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law." The latest: The institute on Monday put its entire staff on administrative leave for 90 days after a meeting with DOGE staff, NPR reported. Follow the money: The IMLS' largest program, called Grants to States, disburses roughly $160 million annually to state library agencies, including $12.5 million in fiscal year 2024 to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC). The federal grant makes up a third of the state agency's total budget. Per a request from the state agency reviewed by Axios, the 2024 money was earmarked for literacy and workforce readiness programs as well as to help train librarians. By the numbers: San Antonio museums and libraries have collectively received more than $2 million in federal support since fiscal year 2020. Zoom in: The Witte Museum has received a $250,000 grant from the agency to better care for 50,000 artifacts from its Texas History Collection, which includes furniture, ceramics, musical instruments and fashion accessories. What they're saying: "We have hopes that with the success of these IMLS-funded projects, we can continue this work to make our collection accessible to ourselves, but also to other researchers, and to make sure we're stewarding our collection for the future," Witte Museum CEO Michelle Everidge told the Express-News. "Something obviously really critical to museum work is making sure that we're keeping the community's memories and their treasures for the future." Other San Antonio institutions impacted by the IMLS include: The DoSeum — $250,000 each in fiscal years 2022 and 2024 for two traveling exhibitions — one to teach kids skills for the future and another called "Understanding Race and Building Unity." The University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries and Museum — more than $240,000 in fiscal year 2022 to digitize and catalog at-risk audiovisual items from the Institute of Texan Cultures. Artpace — $50,000 in fiscal year 2022 for a paid, after-school program for high school students to learn about careers in the arts. The Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, Bexar County's BiblioTech and the Army Medical Department Museum Foundation have also received funds since fiscal year 2020. Friction point: The IMLS' governing board issued a letter that explained its programs "cannot be paused, reduced, or eliminated without violating Congressional intent and federal statute." Between the lines: The elimination of the IMLS could lead to "devastation for museums, libraries and archives everywhere," Gabriel Solis, executive director for the Texas After Violence Project, tells Axios.
