The Federal Bureaucracy Rollback Continues

On March 14, President Trump signed an executive order that cut funding for seven agencies, including the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The order demands that the agencies and offices be stripped to “the minimum presence and function required by law.” That means a drastic reduction in personnel and programming.

The American Library Association (ALA) called the order an “assault” on the IMLS, one that dismisses “the aspirations and everyday needs of millions of Americans.” It should be noted that the ALA receives ample funding from the IMLS, aggressively promotes DEI policies, and celebrates drag queen story hour events.

The American Alliance for Museums issued an urgent call to stakeholders that opened, “NOW is the time to speak up for museums!” The call provides information and a script for citizens to use as they contact members of Congress and issue their protest.

Let’s add to the affair another piece of information as people weigh their responses to the order. Here are a few grants the IMLS has given in recent times:

• The University of Tennessee received an award of $393,425 in order to “employ user studies, analysis, and focus groups to better understand how adult LGBTQ+ library users make use of current library catalogs and metadata, and how this metadata could be enhanced to better reflect the language, needs, and uses of this diverse group of library users.” 
• The Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry received $99,000 to “provide certification for all staff in trauma-informed practices, which recognizes that people who have had traumatic experiences can find it challenging to feel safe and develop trusting relationships.” 
• The University of North Carolina at Greensboro received $282,201 to investigate “how Latine people are depicted in English-language library and information science (LIS) research publications.” 
• The DoSeum received $250,000 for a program called “Uniquely Us: Understanding Race and Building Unity.” More on this: “Developed for audiences ages 0-7, the exhibition will provide age-appropriate resources on race and racism.”
• Powell Gardens got $217,000 to “build its institutional capacity to support a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment for staff, volunteers, and visitors.”
• The J. B. Speed Art Museum received $249,700 for “a series of exhibitions that address inequality in the appreciation of Black artists and their works.”
• The University of South Carolina received $249,980 to “compile local, regional, and national health resources to create a centralized, visible, and sustainable online LGBTQIA+ consumer health information guide.” 

There are more, many more. I scanned but a fraction of all the grants given in the last year or two and drew only the most egregious peddlers in identity politics who earned substantial financing. There are dozens more grants to projects of limited interest and with exotic aims that can only have a negligible impact on public attention.

Everybody likes museums and libraries. I use my local library all the time. Critics of Trump’s executive order resort to this general approval in ideal terms, rather than focusing on the specifics of IMLS awards. Yes, the institute funds many worthy projects, but as the content and amounts of the examples listed above demonstrate, the agency has devoted significant effort and resources to identitarian initiatives that are not only contrary to the president’s vision—they are also displeasing to the American people.