The Trump administration, working in coordination with the so-called Elon Musk government ministry, emptied a small federal agency that provides funding to the country’s libraries and museums. In the United States communities, the cuts threaten field trips for students, classes for the elderly and access to digital popular services, such as the Ebook Libby application.
On Monday, the managers of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) informed 77 employees – Victte of all agency staff – which they were immediately put on administrative leave paid, according to one of the workers, who sought anonymity for fear of reprisals from Trump officials. Several other sources have confirmed this decision, which occurred after President Donald Trump appointed Keith Sonderling, the assistant work secretary, as an interim director of the IMLS less than two weeks ago.
A representative of the US Federation of Local Government employees 3403, a union which represents around 40 members of Iml personnel, said that Sonderling and a group of DOGE staff met the management of the IMLS at the end of last month. Subsequently, Sonderling sent an email to the staff “emphasizing the importance of libraries and museums by cultivating the perception of American exceptionalism and patriotism of the next generation,” said the Union representative in a statement to Wired.
The IMLS employees who presented themselves at work at the agency on Monday were invited to hand over their computers and have lost access to their government email addresses before receiving order to return home for the day, the employee said. We do not know when, or if, staff members will never return to work. “It’s tearing on several levels,” adds the employee.
The White House and the Museum and Library Services Institute did not immediately respond to requests for comments from Wired.
The annual IMLS budget amounts to less than $ 1 per person in the United States. Overall, the agency granted more than $ 269.5 million to library and museum systems last year, according to its grant database. Much of this money is paid as reimbursements over time, says the current Imls employee, but now there is no one to reduce the checks of funds that have already been allocated.
“The status of subsidies previously granted is not clear. Without staff to administer the programs, it is likely that most of the subsidies are dismissed,” said the US Federation of Government Federation 3403.
About 65% of the funding had been allocated to different states, each planned to receive a minimum of around 1.2 million dollars. The recipients can use money for state-scale initiatives or transmit it to local museum and library institutions for expenditure such as staff training and back office software. California and Texas have received the highest allocated funding, at around $ 12.5 million and $ 15.7 million, respectively, according to immls. Individual libraries and museums also receive subsidies directly from IML for specific projects.
An Idaho art museum should put $ 10,350 for support Students’ field tripsDepending on the database of immls subsidies. A North Carolina Museum received $ 23,500 for Weaving and fiber art workshops For the elderly. And an indigenous community in California should put $ 10,000 Towards the purchase of books and electronic resources.
