Federal funding freeze impact on local libraries and museums

It may be a while before you see new preservation and community enhancement projects at your local libraries and museums due to a federal funding freeze.

In 2021, The Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture (MAC) in Spokane’s Browne’s Addition neighborhood received a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). You can see how Washington state allocated funds from the IMLS in the past here.

The Museums of America grant, valued at $249,589, helped the MAC replace an out-of-date collection of software and develop a digital preservation policy.

Hoping to continue their preservation projects, the MAC applied for another grant in 2024.

The proposal aimed to secure funding for the preservation of the museum’s vast collection of 20,000 nitrate and acetate negatives.

However, the recent decision by the Trump Administration to place all IMLS employees on leave has left the proposal’s future uncertain.

The Spokane County Library District has also benefited from IMLS funding in the past few years, using grants to provide STEM kits, Wi-Fi hotspots, iPads and Chromebooks for community use.

Jane Baker, the library district’s Communication & Development Director, said providing these resources helps the library serve the community.

“You expect the book from the library, but these other things help reinforce the concepts that kids can learn in the books,” she said.

If IMLS funds were lost, Spokane Valley Library said day-to-day operations would not be affected, but that community enhancement programs would be greatly impacted.

“We lose that innovative opportunity for us to stretch the boundaries of what libraries can do to offer those services in responsive ways to the needs of the community,” said Patrick Roewe, Executive Director of the Spokane County Library District.

Roewe said the impact on rural libraries could be felt the most as they rely heavily on federal funds for resources like database and e-book consortiums.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty at the federal and state level right now,” Rowe said. “What that means now is that filters down to the local level and it is really going to depend on what the individual needs and experiences of those local libraries are from the state.”