Much is still unknown about how a recent executive order targeting the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services will ultimately impact Lawrence’s museums and libraries, but the stakes are high.
President Trump earlier this month issued an executive order demanding that IMLS be “eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.” The order also lists six other federal agencies, including the Minority Business Development Agency and United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, as ones the president has deemed unnecessary.
IMLS was created in 1996, and its mission is to “advance, support, and empower America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development.” It provides millions of dollars in grants to libraries and museums nationwide each year.
Steve Nowak, executive director of the Watkins Museum of History, said the fate of IMLS will have an immediate impact on the museum.
The museum currently has an open IMLS grant. The project is finished, and about $13,000 in funds have not yet been disbursed — “That is funding we may lose,” Nowak said, but he noted the grant website is still up and running for now, which is probably a good sign.
“But more important than that is the future impact on the Watkins Museum,” he said via email. “Since 2019, the museum has received three grants from the IMLS totaling just over $230,000. These grants helped fund the third-floor core exhibits, develop field trip curriculum for the Watkins and history museums in Eudora, Lecompton, and Clinton Lake, and develop online classroom teaching resources on the Underground Railroad.”
Grant funds in the past have covered exhibit fabrication, contractors’ fees, supplies and staffing, Nowak said.
“Losing the opportunity to pursue future funding from the IMLS or other federal agencies like the National Endowment for the Humanities would have significant impact on the museum’s ability to sustain operations at current levels,” he said.
Brad Allen, director of the Lawrence Public Library, said he didn’t believe LPL would see much financial impact if IMLS were eliminated.
The vast majority of LPL’s funding — 90% — comes from the City of Lawrence, though the library did apply for and receive a $100,000 grant from IMLS in 2021 that supported a two-year pilot of a diversity internship program.
More concerning for Lawrence library patrons will likely be potential impacts to the State Library of Kansas.
Allen said LPL receives a small amount of money through a state aid program administered by the state library; this year, it amounted to about $34,000.
But the state library receives about 30% of its funding — $2.1 million in 2024 — from IMLS, and it provides access to numerous databases that fielded millions of searches statewide in 2023.
“LPL does not have to pay for those databases since the State Library provides them,” Allen said via email.
IMLS also funds interlibrary loans, the Talking Books program for people with visual impairments and print disabilities, digital books and much more.
The executive order is concerning, but Ray Walling, state librarian, said there’s a lot of misinformation going around, too.
Although executive orders direct policy for federal agencies, they are not laws, and Walling said there is information in statutes about programs that are mandatory. Also, Congress has recently approved appropriations for IMLS in the current budget, he said.
“That’s why things are a little unclear at the moment,” he said. “While we are thinking about contingency plans, we haven’t really gone down that route yet.”
The state library has other priorities right now.
“We’re more focused on advocating for important services that we’re able to fund with the federal money, and encouraging people to reach out to their legislators and express their value in these resources,” Walling said, “because they affect all Kansans — they affect our K-12 schools, our higher education institutions, public libraries, etcetera.”
2023-Snapshot-Kansas-State-Library-program-rNowak said the museum’s current open grant was the one that enabled it to develop online learning resources on the history of the Underground Railroad for teachers to use in K-12 classrooms. Those resources, including a graphic novel developed by Lawrence High School student Maya Amen, can be found at watkinsmuseum.org/schools.
“Grants like this provide the funding it takes to come up with new public offerings and find creative approaches to addressing community needs,” Nowak said. “As such, federal grants from the IMLS and National Endowment for the Humanities have been critical for the growth of the Watkins Museum and increased public access.”
The University of Kansas has multiple libraries and museums on campus. Joe Monaco, a spokesperson for KU, said via email that “We are working with our higher education partners and federal officials to learn more about this executive order.”
Contact information for the congressional delegation representing Lawrence and Douglas County is available at this link. The nonprofit 5 Calls, 5calls.org, has phone numbers and templates of scripts to help people make their voices heard on several federal issues.
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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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