IMLS abruptly reinstates federal grants cut by Trump

The Institute of Museum and Library Services, an independent federal agency supporting museums and libraries nationwide, has reinstated the grants it cut earlier this year under the administration of President Donald Trump.

"Upon further review, the Institute of Museum and Library Services has reinstated all federal grants. This action supersedes any prior notices which may have been received related to grant termination,” IMLS inexplicably said in a statement. “Grantees should access the agency's electronic grants management system for further information.” 

The decision was praised by the American Library Association which said that grants were reinstated as the “direct result” of a November 21 decision from a federal judge in Rhode Island in a lawsuit brought against Trump by the attorneys general for 21 states.

“ALA welcomes the good news that IMLS is restoring all federal grants that had previously been terminated. This means that libraries across the country will be able to resume vital services for learning, imagination, and economic opportunity,” ALA president Sam Helmick said in a statement.

“Restoration of these grants is a massive win for libraries of all kinds in all states. Every public, school and academic library and their patrons benefit from the research findings and program outcomes from individual library and organization grantees.”

While Helmick said libraries are “breathing a sigh of relief,” he noted that the Trump administration can still appeal the court’s decision. And the Republican-led Congress can choose to not fund IMLS in future years.

The news comes after Trump issued an executive order in March that directed the elimination of the IMLS, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Trump administration then began terminating grants from the agencies.

Urgent Matter has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with IMLS seeking records that explain the decision to restore grants and the process behind their initial cancellation.

But museum workers noted that much of the damage from the cancellation of the grants has already been done. In online posts, museum workers recounted how entire teams were laid off after the grant terminations and feared that now that those people are gone, they may never return.

Last month, the American Alliance of Museums released the alarming findings from its annual “National Snapshot of United States Museums” survey, in which one-third of museums reported that the Trump administration cancelled their federal grants and contracts.

The survey of more than 500 museum directors nationally found that the median loss of cancelled government grants and contracts was $30,000.

The most common cancelled grants and contracts were from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, with a median loss of $50,000, the National Endowment for the Humanities with a median loss of $25,000, and the National Endowment for the Arts, with a median loss of $25,000.

Some of the affected museums said that they have not been reimbursed money from such grants and contracts that they had already spent, and only 56% of those affected have communicated these losses publicly, the survey found.

 The loss of such grants and contracts has “forced difficult choices,” including postponing building improvements and cancelling programming, which has led museum leaders and staff to increase political engagement with lawmakers.

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