DOGE funding cuts have Philadelphia-area museums, libraries scrambling
A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from taking further action to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), a small but critical agency that supports libraries and museums across the United States.
The ruling comes in the wake of sudden grant terminations that blindsided Philadelphia institutions, including the Rosenbach Museum and Library and the Woodmere Art Museum, which were already using the funds for in-progress projects.
At the Rosenbach Museum and Library in Center City, rare books and manuscripts are more than relics. They are intimate connections to the past.
"It is a transformational experience when you can physically touch, feel, smell the book that was written by your favorite author or a signer of the Declaration of Independence," Kelsey Scouten Bates, director of the Rosenbach Museum and Library, said.
The Rosenbach had been digitizing its extensive catalog as part of a $250,000 federal grant until it received an unexpected notice last month that the funding had been revoked.
"That project has been cut off entirely by IMLS," Bates said.
In a notice sent to the museum, IMLS stated the grant was "no longer consistent with the agency's priorities" and "no longer serves the interest of the United States."
Bates said the reasoning doesn't align with how the grants are structured.
"It's earmarked by Congress in the year before it's actually awarded, so this money is already there," Bates said.
Over in Chestnut Hill, the Woodmere Art Museum is facing a similar crisis.
"I never expected a grant that was signed and contracted to be terminated," Bill Valerio, director and CEO of the Woodmere Art Museum, said.
Woodmere had secured a $750,000 IMLS grant to renovate a new building that will house Woodmere's collection. The grants are issued as a reimbursement, meaning the museum has already begun the work, expecting federal funds to cover the costs.
"We signed the contract. There are a list of activities that we are then obligated to do," Valerio said. "We have to raise every penny for everything that we do. To lose $750,000 is a loss."
With the nation's 250th anniversary on the horizon in 2026, museum leaders say the cuts couldn't come at a worse time.
Philadelphia is expected to draw visitors from around the world, and both the Rosenbach and Woodmere are planning to showcase their collections and upgrades during the celebration.
While the court's ruling temporarily halts further dismantling of IMLS, the financial uncertainty lingers. Institutions now find themselves turning to emergency fundraising efforts to keep long-planned projects alive.
