The Trump administration has eliminated Connecticut’s $2.1 million federal grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The state receives the funding through the Institute’s “Grants to State” program.
The money goes to the Connecticut State Library and supports the 13 staff at the Division of Library Development, who are responsible for the statewide services, programs, and initiatives that every library utilizes. These include the operation of the Middletown Library Service Center, which acts as a library for libraries, the inter-library loan, and the Connecticut Library for accessible books.
They also provide professional development opportunities, professional consulting for libraries, a delivery program, and electronic databases.
“For us, it could be a devastating cut,” Connecticut librarian Deborah Schander said. “Connecticut residents access libraries from birth to death, essentially, and so the services that they have access to will be impacted in a wide variety of ways.”
Every state receives a base grant of $1 million. Factors like population determine whether that amount increases.
Schander said there’s a lot of uncertainty.
“This is the first definitive step that has been taken that impacts funding. But we are all watching to see what happens next because we’re sure there’ll be more to come,” Schander said.
There are 950 libraries in Connecticut.
California and Washington are the other two states to lose the grant. State officials say they’re not sure why they were singled out.
The Trump administration has also placed the entire staff of the Institute of Museum and Library Services on administrative leave.
