{"id":168313,"date":"2025-04-02T13:44:46","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T13:44:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/american-history\/defend-the-institute-of-museum-and-library-services-aaslh\/"},"modified":"2025-04-02T13:44:46","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T13:44:46","slug":"defend-the-institute-of-museum-and-library-services-aaslh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=168313","title":{"rendered":"Defend the Institute of Museum and Library Services \u2013 AASLH"},"content":{"rendered":"


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In March, President Trump signed an executive order gutting the Institute of Museum and Library Services<\/strong><\/a> (IMLS). IMLS is the only federal agency that provides essential funding and leadership to history organizations across the country.<\/p>\n

On the top of this page, you\u2019ll find actions you can take to advocate for IMLS. Below these actions are updates on the status of IMLS. The most recent update is listed first.<\/p>\n

Advocate for IMLS<\/h2>\n

Fill out our survey<\/strong><\/a> to let us know how your organization has been impacted by federal and state actions. All responses will be kept strictly confidential unless you give us permission to share them. See responses<\/strong><\/a> that we\u2019ve been given permission to share.<\/p>\n

Write and call<\/strong> your members of Congress<\/strong><\/a> about what could be lost if IMLS is gutted. Contact your Congressional delegation<\/strong><\/a> immediately if your IMLS grant has been delayed or cancelled.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Write and call your state-level elected officials<\/strong><\/a> and ask them to advocate for IMLS with your members of Congress.<\/p>\n

Encourage your museum\u2019s Board, supporters, and members<\/strong><\/a> to write and call their members of Congress.<\/p>\n

Ask your Representatives and Senators to join the Congressional Museum Caucus<\/strong><\/a> to build long-term support for museums.<\/p>\n

Invite Congress to your organization.<\/strong><\/a> Members of Congress will be in their home districts for two weeks on April 13 \u2013 27 and periodically home for extended weekends. Take the opportunity to invite your members of Congress to your organization, schedule a meeting with them in their district offices, or attend public forums that your members of Congress might be hosting.<\/p>\n

Share your story with local media.\u00a0<\/strong>More than 2,000 stories have already been shared, demonstrating the media\u2019s interest in this topic. Local news stories are a powerful way to demonstrate the importance of IMLS funding and your institution to your community.<\/p>\n

Updates<\/h2>\n

April 1<\/h3>\n

Yesterday, the Trump administration put the entire staff of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) on administrative leave. The staff was told not to come into the office for at least 90 days and no longer has access to IMLS email accounts.<\/p>\n

An IMLS employee told Artnet yesterday<\/strong><\/a> that there are 891 open awards to museums with $180 million in federal funds that the Trump administration plans to cancel. IMLS has effectively been shut down.<\/p>\n

The American Association for State and Local History is in conversation with the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) and other museum associations about legal options to challenge this action.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve heard from history organizations around the country<\/strong><\/a> that cuts to IMLS funding would significantly harm their ability to operate and serve their communities. If your organization is impacted by the IMLS shut down, please let us know.<\/strong><\/a> In addition, if your legally promised grant is delayed or cancelled, contact your members of Congress<\/strong><\/a> immediately.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, our field needs to continue to rally together to preserve IMLS. AAM reports that more than 50,000 calls and emails have been sent to Congress through their advocacy platform<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

March 26<\/h3>\n

Representatives Dina Titus and Suzanne Bonamici are circulating a letter for other members of the House of Representatives to sign, asking the Trump administration to reconsider the executive order that guts the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).<\/p>\n

Please call your members of the House of Representatives<\/a><\/strong> to ask them to sign the letter. The deadline for members of Congress to sign the letter is end of day Friday, March 28<\/em><\/strong> so calling will be the best option given the short turnaround time.<\/p>\n

Our partners at the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), have created a draft script you may use<\/strong><\/a>. Type in your address to display your House member\u2019s phone number.<\/p>\n

Museum Associations Send Letter to Acting IMLS Director
<\/strong>AASLH, along with AAM, Association of Art Museum Directors, American Public Gardens Association, Association of Children\u2019s Museums, Association of Science and Technology Centers, Association of African American Museums, Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and the Association of Science Museum Directors have sent a letter<\/strong><\/a> to Acting Director of IMLS Keith Sonderling.<\/p>\n

The letter highlights the importance of museums to our economy, educational infrastructure, and communities as well as the critical support IMLS provides for the field. The letter also asks Sonderling to meet with the leaders of these nine associations and alliances.<\/p>\n

U.S. Senators Send Letter<\/strong>
Today, a bipartisan group of senators\u2014Jack Reed, Kirsten Gillibrand, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski\u2014sent a letter to Sonderling. These senators are the co-authors of the last act that reauthorized IMLS. The letter urges Sonderling to continue IMLS\u2019s mission to engage with and support libraries and museums, as Congress intended when it created the agency. Read the letter.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

March 24<\/h3>\n

Last week was another busy week of federal challenges to museums and history organizations.<\/p>\n

The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) and the eight other national museum associations,\u00a0including AASLH<\/a>,<\/strong> along with the regional and state museum associations, have been collaborating to rally responses from museums and related organizations across the country to defend the work of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).\u00a0AAM reported 35,000<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0letters to Members of Congress had been sent through their online system last week.<\/p>\n

Keith Sonderling was sworn in as the new Acting Director of IMLS on Thursday, March 20. The American Library Association (ALA)\u00a0sent him a letter<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0warning him not to cut library programs required by federal law. (ALA also published this\u00a0helpful FAQ<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0about the Executive Order targeting IMLS.) The national museum associations are seeking a meeting with the new acting director. Allies on Capitol Hill encourage\u00a0continued public engagement with Congressional offices and messages of support about the value of museums and the leadership of IMLS.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is also important for state and local organizations to\u00a0contact state officials<\/strong>, who are among the best proponents of federal support for agencies like IMLS. State leaders, aware of the critical significance of federal funding to museums and libraries in their state, can make the case directly to their Congressional counterparts.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, advocacy organizations are analyzing the\u00a0Impoundment Act<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0and how it might affect the administration\u2019s efforts to dismantle or downsize agencies such as IMLS. Museum associations will draw on this work for their advocacy efforts and will track the legal challenges made to prevent the blocking of mandated services at other agencies.<\/p>\n

AASLH continues to support AAM\u2019s lead in creating a bipartisan\u00a0Congressional Museum Caucus<\/a><\/strong>. We encourage everyone in the museum community to ask their Representative and Senators to join the newly formed caucus led by Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH). This will be important in the long-term strategy of building relationships to support museums.<\/p>\n

AASLH participates in all of these efforts while also using the 250th anniversary of the United States as crucial means of gathering support for museums and other history organizations. This anniversary presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to share the whole history of our nation and make progress in becoming a more perfect union. It also offers a chance to transform and strengthen the history field, preparing it to thrive for decades to come.<\/p>\n

The upcoming 250th anniversary also reminds us of important principles our country was founded on: representative democracy, the separation of powers, and the principle of government by law. As we continue to advocate for IMLS, we also advocate for our democracy. As our elected representatives, we must expect that Congress will continue to respond to the 96% of Americans who support funding for museums and to the tens of thousands of letters they have received in support of IMLS. We must also expect that the president will respect and follow the laws that govern IMLS, including the distribution of funds Congress has allocated to it.<\/p>\n

March 17<\/h3>\n

The Trump administration is\u00a0threatening deep cuts<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), an agency that provides essential funding and leadership to history organizations across the country. With more than\u00a021,000 history museums, historical societies, and related organizations in the United States<\/strong>, IMLS plays a vital role in preserving our nation\u2019s heritage, expanding access to history, and supporting the educational and economic contributions of our institutions.<\/p>\n

The president\u2019s executive order directs IMLS to eliminate non-statutory programs and reduce personnel to the bare minimum.\u00a0If these cuts proceed, they could effectively dismantle IMLS, putting funding for history organizations at risk.<\/strong>\u00a0On the eve of the nation\u2019s 250th anniversary, we should be investing in the agencies that support the preservation and sharing of our nation\u2019s story, not weakening them.<\/p>\n

Why This Matters<\/strong><\/p>\n

IMLS provides critical grants that help history museums:<\/p>\n