On March 14, President Trump signed an executive order to continue the reduction of the federal bureaucracy, an initiative being carried out primarily by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The action prompted the evaluation of several agencies that the administration has deemed to have “unnecessary” components. One of the seven agencies listed is the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

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On April 1, the majority of staff at the Institute of Museum and Library Services received an email placing them on administrative leave. Since Congress is the branch of government that appropriates funding, Musk, who is unelected, crippling the agency’s ability to use its budget is raising legal questions.

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While it counts for less than 0.01% of the federal budget, targeting IMLS can lead to significant impacts on museums. One function of the Institute of Museum and Library Services is to award grants to museums and libraries. The executive director of the Dennos Museum at NMC, Craig Hadley, explained that their most recent grant application to IMLS was to aid the preservation of their outside sculpture collection.

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“Most of those were all installed in the mid to late 1990s,” Hadley explained, “So, they’ve been sitting outside for 20 plus years getting beat up by the snow and the rain and kids climbing on them and all that stuff.”

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“I would say that definitely has an impact on visitor experience,” he continued, “Most of our sculptures have reached the point where they really need serious attention. We need to really do some work to take care of them or they’ll just continue to deteriorate.”

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The grant was for approximately $25 to 30,000, and it was expected that they would get a response in either the summer or the fall. Now, there is uncertainty that will still be a reality.

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“Not quite sure what’s going to happen to those pots of money,” Hadley expressed, “despite the fact that we applied back in December before any of this happened.”

The executive order gave the heads of each listed government agency a week to give the Director of the Office of Management and Budget a report that confirms they comply with the order, and that explains the necessary components of their agency. However, what is considered necessary by the heads of the agencies may not reflect what the Trump administration deems necessary. 

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“It’s not just IMLS … There's just so much change occurring right now at the federal level,” Hadley expressed, “It’s hard to know next week what they are ultimately going to come back with and say is critical.”

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While federal funding is being cut, Hadley explained that the cuts to federal funding may translate into what state funding is available.

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“IMLS and National Endowment for Humanities for example, both will make grants to state government, and then the state government will then redistribute those funds through different state grants,” Hadley explained, “I think that’s definitely already a concern, that between IMLS and other federal agencies, the state arts agencies in particular could start to see some of their programs compromised as well, or some of their funding could dry up.”

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While the majority of the museum’s funding is earned revenue, and there are private endowments to add on top of that, the amount given to the museum at the governmental level provides money for certain kinds of needs.

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“It's much more popular, I think, and easier for us to get buy-in to create a new exhibit or to build an expansion, or anything like that … if you think about the more public, flashy things.”

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According to Hadley, for less attractive sounding initiatives such as storage needs necessary for the museum, federal and state funding can fill in gaps that donors don’t gravitate toward.

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“But that's where IMLS has been really important,” Hadley continued, “Because they understand the infrastructure needs that museums have, the things that we need to be able to actually run a museum behind the scenes and to help us achieve best practice and like museum standards. They can help us do that.”

State and federal funding aiding other museums helps the Dennos provide more exhibits as well. Organizations such as the Mid America Arts Alliance provide exhibits for other museums using federal funding, making it more affordable for the smaller museums.

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“So, instead of us paying $25,000 to bring in a big show, we might be able to get for like five or ten [thousand],” Hadley explained, “I would imagine if something like NEH funding disappeared, it would be harder to create exhibits that really designed for small to mid-sized museums like us.”

With funding pullbacks, there may be an increase in competition for private funds as well.

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“It's just shifting the resource pool away from some of the public funds, and just more of us will be scrambling within the sort of private sector competing and applying for the same things there,” Hadley expressed, “So, ultimately, there just won't be as much resourcing to go around … And some of us are going to lose out.”