Local museums, library organization brace for federal funding cuts
Christine Weinreich, head of the Memphis Library Foundation, once thrilled about the library being named a finalist to offer a creative-writing program designed to help people process their emotions, is preparing to be let down. (Bill Dries/The Daily Memphian file)
Memphis Public Libraries is a finalist for a $100,000 federal grant to introduce teens in the criminal justice system to art and creative-writing programs, a first for the library. It also receives about $500,000 a year for books and thousands more for technology upgrades.
But the funding has been up in the air since March 14 when President Donald Trump issued an executive order that would eliminate the Institute of Museum and Library Services and a handful of other agencies in the administration’s ongoing effort to reduce the federal bureaucracy.
Dismantling the IMLS affects a broad swath of local museums and foundations, including the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, National Civil Rights Museum, Pink Palace, Memphis Library Foundation, Memphis Botanic Garden and the Metal Museum, which is now in the middle of a $200,000 multiyear project to inventory and package its 2,500-piece collection for its move to Rust Hall in Overton Park.
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Institute of Museum and Library Services Laura Hutchison Bhatti Russ Wigginton Kevin Sharp Subscriber OnlyThank you for supporting local journalism.
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Jane Roberts
Jane Roberts has reported in Memphis for more than 20 years. As a senior member of The Daily Memphian staff, she was assigned to the medical beat during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also has done in-depth work on other medical issues facing our community, including shortages of specialists in local hospitals. She covered K-12 education here for years and later the region’s transportation sector, including Memphis International Airport and FedEx Corp.
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