SAN ANTONIO – An executive order from President Donald Trump last week called for eliminating non-statutory requirements from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and other government entities on March 14.
The order said that the head of the institute is expected to explain what functions the entity is statutorily required to serve to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget within seven days.
That deadline is Friday, March 21.
After that, the order says the director “shall, to the extent consistent with applicable law and except insofar as necessary to effectuate an expected termination, reject funding requests for such governmental entities to the extent they are inconsistent with this order.”
But what are the statutory requirements, and what would eliminating this institute mean for San Antonio’s museums and libraries?
Background
According to The Law Dictionary, a digitized version of “Black’s Law Dictionary” (2nd Edition), a statutory requirement is a “license required by law to allow someone to engage in a certain activity.”
In other words, if the IMLS is found to have no law requiring it to be in place, the executive order is calling for their funding to be rejected.
The laws establishing the IMLS can be found on their website.
They are as follows:
- The National Museum of the American Latino Act of 2020 - In December 2020, Congress passed, and President Trump signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. A subsection of this authorized the creation of a new Smithsonian Museum for American Latino History and Culture, as well as grants and scholarships for Latin American and other minority-serving institutions.
- Museum and Library Services Act of 2018 - On Dec. 31, 2018, President Trump signed this act into law. It reauthorized existing programs and functions of the IMLS and provided new authority to develop and support new libraries, among other places of information.
- Museum and Library Services Act of 2010 - On Dec. 22, 2010, President Obama signed this act into law, which reauthorized IMLS’s existing programs with some changes. IMLS was tasked to take on an active role in data collection and research, focus on the development of 21st century skills and advise the Executive and Legislative branches on information services. Additionally, the Act recognized how libraries and museums contributed to engaged citizens and a more competitive workforce.
- Museum and Library Services Act of 2003 - On Sept. 25, 2003, President Bush signed an Act recognizing the effectiveness of the IMLS and amending the 1996 Act.
- National Museum of African American History and Culture Act of 2003 - Congress passed, and President Bush signed this Act in December 2003. It created a new Smithsonian Museum for African American History and Culture and other grant programs highlighting this topic.
- E-Government Act of 2002 - This was made to improve Americans' access to government information and services by focusing development on digitizing government services and processes. This law tasked IMLS with creating an online tutorial and guide on accessing government resources and which ones are available.
- Museum and Library Services Act of 1996 - This is the first act establishing the IMLS within the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities.
Responses
So far, the Executive Order has received responses from the American Library Association and the American Alliance of Museums.
The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) is allied with 35,000 museums nationwide.
Since 1906, the AAM has advocated for museums and provided museum professionals with the resources, inspiration, knowledge and connections they need to move forward.
Their statement reads, in part, “On March 14, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO), Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy, directing further cuts to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), an agency that is already operating at a minimum level, making up only 0.0046% of the overall federal budget. IMLS efficiently provides critical resources to libraries and museums in all 50 states and territories."
The American Library Association (ALA) aims to support librarians and libraries by advocating for them at the national level and speaking out against censorship.
Their statement reads, in part, “ALA implores President Trump to reconsider this short-sighted decision. We encourage U.S. Congressmembers, Senators and decision makers at every level of government to visit the libraries that serve their constituents and urge the White House to spare the modest federal funding for America’s libraries.”
They have also released an FAQ page on their website about what this EO could mean for libraries nationwide.
The potential effect on Texas
The IMLS has a database showing which institutions they give money to and how much funding they provide.
In Texas, 20 institutions received funding from the IMLS in the 2024 fiscal year.
Here are some local ones:
- DoSeum - $250,000
- Witte Museum - $250,000
- Texas State Library and Archives Commission - $12,512,132
KSAT reached out to the Witte Museum for comments. Their statement is below:
The Witte Museum—and by extension, the San Antonio community and beyond—has benefited significantly from the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) over the past 25 years, receiving nearly $1.2 million in federal grants. Recent IMLS Museums for America grants have been particularly impactful, enabling crucial conservation and preservation of the Witte Museum Collection, which holds 350,000 artifacts and specimens reflecting nearly a century of Texas history and stewardship.
The Witte Museum recently completed a multi-year project funded by the IMLS, which successfully organized, inventoried, and safely stored significant portions of our paleontology and geology collections. Building on this success, a second IMLS-funded initiative is now underway, focused on similar preservation efforts for our Texas history collection. Both of these grants required matching private funding, further leveraging community support and investment. The IMLS frequently funds museum projects like ours—those that significantly benefit the public through often invisible behind-the-scenes work.
At this time, the Witte Museum has not received any notice from IMLS indicating changes to our current grant commitments. However, the recent Executive Order targeting IMLS raises significant concerns for the future. Cuts to IMLS would severely impact museums nationwide, limiting their capacity to serve their communities, preserve cultural memories, and inspire visitors—especially children—in fields such as art, history, and science. Museums like the Witte are centers of exploration and learning, essential for families discovering the world together. They are also crucial economic drivers, generating tourism, supporting jobs, and fostering strong nonprofit ecosystems through collaboration.
The Witte Museum remains committed to exploration, discovery, and stewardship of community memory, and will continue to advocate for the vital role museums play in our society.
Witte Museum
KSAT has also reached out to other organizations listed on this database. They have not commented on the Executive Order as of the publishing of this story.
While the San Antonio Public Library was not listed as a fundee of the IMLS, KSAT did reach out for comment. Their statement is below:
SAPL is monitoring the impact of this executive order. As this issue is still developing, we cannot speculate on potential long-term consequences. Currently, we do not anticipate major impacts to SAPL’s operations, and we remain committed to delivering comprehensive library services to the residents of San Antonio and Bexar County.
San Antonio Public Library
