Federal library agency disruptions could threaten funding for Florida museums, libraries

Last month, the Trump administration issued an executive order demanding a downsizing of various federal agencies, including the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency that provides “the majority of federal library funds” to library systems and museums nationwide, including the Orlando Science Center, through grants.

Nearly all of the small agency’s staff of about 70 employees, represented by the American Federation of Government Employees Union Local 3403, were placed on paid administrative leave this week. “The status of previously awarded grants is unclear,” the union shared in a statement. “Without staff to administer the programs, it is likely that most grants will be terminated.”

The move, potentially threatening the future of beloved arts and culture programs, is part of a cost-cutting initiative Trump has undertaken in step with his billionaire-led Department of Government Efficiency to reduce “government bureaucracy” and eliminate what his administration views as wasteful spending.

In a statement to PBS News Hour, an administration official described it as “a necessary step to fulfill that order and ensure hard-earned tax dollars are not diverted to discriminatory DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion] initiatives or divisive anti-American programming in our cultural institutions.”

Others fear it’s part of a “larger attack on education,” the New York Times reported, coming shortly after the Trump administration last month issued an executive order that aims to dismantle the Department of Education.

State and local institutions throughout Florida received $11.4 million in grants through the IMLS this fiscal year alone, with the bulk of that awarded to libraries, educational institutions, and museums in Miami-Dade, Broward and Leon Counties.

But institutions in Central Florida could be affected, too, including the Orlando Science Center, awarded $119,105 this year for its science literacy program, “Science Matters.” Previously, the Science Center has also received grant funding through IMLS for K-5 school field trips for students in Orange County Public Schools, professional development workshops for Science Center staff, and other efforts to improve and expand their programming for accessibility and cultural competency.

A spokesperson for the Orlando Science Center, which is closed on Wednesdays, wasn’t immediately available for comment.

On the flip side, a spokesperson for the Orange County Library System, a public library system serving over a million Orange County residents in the Orlando metro, told Orlando Weekly that their system shouldn’t be affected by IMLS disruptions directly.

Their system is fully funded by property taxes, “supplemented by fee collections, grants and donations,” according to the OCLS website, which places them in a “unique” position compared to some of their counterparts, the spokesperson said.

Just one program, a social service resource website called “Right to Service FL,” is funded through grants distributed by IMLS, according to the OCLS spokesperson, and all of those funds have already been paid out — meaning, they’re not at risk for losing that. The website serves as a statewide resource hub, offering Floridians information about available housing, counseling, family assistance and job resources on a county-by-county level, which librarians themselves update.

In total, a review by Orlando Weekly finds that institutions in Orlando and Winter Park alone — ranging from the Orange County Regional History Center to the local library system during the pandemic — have benefited from more than $2 million total in grant funding through IMLS since 1997, the year after the federal agency was first established.

The American Library Association, a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to supporting libraries and libraries, blasted the Trump administration’s threats to the agency Monday.

“Whether on a campus, in the neighborhood, on a military base or elsewhere, libraries mean opportunity for everyone in our communities,” said ALA president Cindy Hohl in a statement. “By cutting off federal support from libraries, the Trump administration is cutting off opportunity for the American people – economically, culturally, professionally and socially.”

Various other institutions across Florida could be affected by the federal arts agency’s cuts. Grants from the small federal agency support programming, as well as the hiring of staff — meaning grant-funded jobs could also be on the line.

The Museum of Discovery and Science in Fort Lauderdale this year was awarded a $249,750 grant through the IMLS for a paid workforce internship program for South Florida high school students. The University of South Florida in Tampa was awarded a $149,957 grant — from the Laura Bush 21st Century Library Program, distributed by IMLS — for a project to “address the knowledge gap that many school librarians report in working with students with autism.”

According to the Florida Division of Library and Information Services, IMLS grant funds have also supported projects like the Miami-Dade Library System’s Adult Learning Center and the Florida Memory program, offering “free online access to significant photographs, films, sound recordings and textual records” from state library archives.

The state Division of Library and Information Services, an informational resource hub within the Department of State, did not respond to or pick up calls from an Orlando Weekly reporter seeking comment. There was no option to leave a voicemail.

Democratic U.S. House Rep. Maxwell Frost, representing parts of Orlando, slammed the Trump administration’s threats to the federal agency in a statement shared with Orlando Weekly. “Donald Trump and Elon Musk want to gut the federal government so badly that they’re willing to defund and destroy local libraries and museums just so they can afford to give their billionaire buddies a tax break.”

The IMLS, he said, has done “incredible work” to funnel money to local communities through libraries and museums that offer free programs and services to people living in those neighborhoods. “People and kids across the country who rely on libraries to get access to the internet, to check out books, to receive free trainings and educational courses, and more are now at risk of losing these resources thanks to Donald Trump.”

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This article appears in Apr 2-8, 2025.