The walls inside the Middletown Library Service Center are lined with books — reading materials for summer and book club programs, books for the visually impaired and more, as well as some puppets of characters in children's books.
It's a resource hub for other libraries and schools in ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø, and about half of its employees are paid with federal money. But with the recent loss of federal funding for the state library, those resources and services that schools and other libraries have come to depend on could be at risk.
The Middletown center is among the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø libraries and museums facing , part of a larger effort driven by the Trump administration and its Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to curtail government spending.
And just down the street is a stark reminder of the existential threat facing the librarians and programs.
Two tall wooden beams hold up a large sign that reads "Department of Government Efficiency." It portrays President Donald J. Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, wearing sunglasses, against an American flag backdrop, in an apparent nod to the work of DOGE that has reshaped the federal government.
Through IMLS' Grants to States program, the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø State Library received $2.1 million a year. Every state gets money allocated through a population-based formula. As of last week, State Librarian Deborah Schander said ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø was one of three states, along with Washington and California, that had current fiscal year grants terminated midyear. That loss will amount to almost $1 million.
Seven grantees in ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø were set to receive a total of nearly $3 million in IMLS funding, with most of it to be doled out over a few years. Some of that money had been spent this year, but the vast majority of it is now gone for grantees like the state library and the Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford.
The cuts are leaving many of these educational and cultural hubs in limbo. Some of these ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø institutions need to lay off workers or consultants, while others remain in a holding pattern as they decide the future of some services and see if they can fill in the gaps.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is among the federal agencies caught in the Trump administration’s push to remake the federal government, though IMLS is smaller than most and its grants made up a tiny fraction of all federal spending. Trump signed an executive order in late March dramatically paring back that department and six others that he deemed "unnecessary."
That prompted IMLS to . Within days, libraries and museums that received funding were informed of the immediate termination of their grants.
The order to dismantle IMLS and other agencies is backed by a coalition of state attorneys general, including ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø’s William Tong.
Every recipient received a letter in early April about the termination of federal funding, saying the grant is "unfortunately no longer consistent with the agency’s priorities and no longer serves the interests of the United States." The letter goes on to say it's repurposing funds in a new way to support the president's agenda.
This caught many recipients off guard, leaving some angry and confused. They are currently dealing with tough decisions about how to make up that funding.
"This is libraries. This is cultural heritage. This is who we are. It’s just appalling," said Sam Quigley, director of the Lyman Allyn Art Museum in New London. "When do museums and libraries not serve the interest of the United States?"
A group of affected library and museum grantees recently met by Zoom to discuss the funding cuts, though many of them had already been in contact with one another since receiving their grant termination letters. Grantees have had different experiences with making last-minute requests to draw down funding after the termination letters. Some were denied, while others were able to get their final reimbursements.
They recently received another letter, requiring grantees to submit a report by May 12 detailing what progress they achieved under the grant as well as itemized charges.
The termination of federal funding has put a financial strain on some of the arts and humanities nonprofits. Many of them will not be able to make up the loss in funding. That has put added pressure on them to consider fundraising from elsewhere to fill in the gaps and tap into the private sector.
The ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø State Library was the biggest recipient in the state of IMLS funding, which it has received since the agency was created in 1996. The state library also got two other awards in one-time funding this year through the same agency.
The larger grant — $2 million to support 13 staff members in the Division of Library Development — provides resources to boost local libraries and build capacity. It also supports the CT Library for Accessible Books, which helps provide audio and braille books. That program benefits about 5,500 patrons in ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø, including around 300 veterans.
Schander said the federal funding is tailored to certain state needs and gives them a framework to make local decisions.
"It is possible that we will have to make some hard decisions about the library services we provide," Schander said. "We are in active conversations and considering what to do moving forward. We’re currently operating as usual. We know we will need to make decisions in the near future about what to do."
The Middletown Library Service Center, which is part of the CT State Library, is likely to feel the ramifications of the funding loss, though most of its programs are mandated by state statute.
It is waiting to see what funding cuts mean for the state budget and how state lawmakers might adjust the budget to account for federal losses. In the meantime, Dawn La Valle, director of the Division of Library Development for the state library system, said they’re carrying on with the work.
"We're still operating as is. It's a difficult situation," La Valle said.
La Valle said by offering training for librarians, larger bundles of books, access to technology and reading guides for kids, the library center saves local ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø libraries millions of dollars each year. For example, the center provides the software that allows kids to count books and pages read for their summer reading program.
Kymberlee Powe, the children and young adult consultant at the division, just finished putting together a summer reading list for libraries. And Monday, other staff were busy preparing dozens of copies of the state’s Nutmeg Book Awards for distribution.
Libraries or classrooms that want a large group of kids to read a book often get multiple copies from the Middletown center. They also provide books for schools participating in the Battle of the Books reading competition, and offer "bundles," for classrooms exploring topics such as ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø history or social-emotional learning, Powe said.
The center trains librarians in new technologies and ways of managing programs. They also operate the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Library for Accessible Books. The Middletown center has technology and books available for people to check out if they are visually impaired or otherwise disabled and need an accessible device for "talking books," or books read aloud.
They also have devices that offer electronic books in braille. On Monday, one of the reader consultants spoke with a patron who was running low on books. He asked for more of his favorites, which she was able to look up.
"The usual?" she asked. "OK, we’ll get a cartridge out to you tomorrow."
The Middletown Library Service Center offers braille displays. That program is federally funded through the Library of Congress. While it’s not immediately at risk, Matt Geeza, the Middletown program’s director, said he still doesn’t know what the future looks like in federal funding.
Museums too
ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø museums that get federal money are also feeling the squeeze.
The Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford received federal funding through IMLS’ Museums Empowered program. The museum was in the middle of the first year of their grant, which was $228,000 over three years. The award was terminated mid-year, and they spent about a third of it. The loss will amount to about $180,000.
The money helped them train staff in engagement and audience evaluation and hire consultants to do focus groups and surveys to inform how they prepare for new programs and exhibits. They will not have any staffing cuts but will lose all of their consultants — some of whom were based in ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø or the northeast.
Jessica Neuwirth, deputy director for strategic initiatives and development at the Mark Twain House & Museum, noted there is "no other funding out there for this kind of work."
"It’s crucial that we learn about and engage with the community around us," Neuwirth said. "We need to figure out how to go forward. The path is not clear at the moment."
"I think we all know that a vibrant arts and culture scene improves every community that it’s a part of," she added. "To lose that is to lose the glue that keeps us together."
It was the museum’s first Museums Empowered grant. The Mark Twain House & Museum was hopeful it would get funding through the National Endowment for the Humanities, but that now seems unlikely after major NEH cuts from the Trump administration.
Other museums in ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø have used IMLS funding for years.
Now the director of the Lyman Allyn Art Museum in New London, Quigley said the museum has received those federal dollars for the past nine years. The most recent grant of $151,000 started last September and was intended to last for three years.
This one helped the museum hire a full-time staffer who would specifically work on the museum’s fiber and textile collection this year. But without that money, they cannot keep up that role. Quigley said they are trying to give that employee some buffer time and will keep her on until May 17.
The museum hoped to image and rehouse 3,000 objects. Over the past eight months of having the grant, they got through close to 500. Quigley said the employee covered by federal funding helped move from paper-based to digital records and improved access so people interested in art all over the world can have virtual access to their collection.
"We don’t know if there will be somebody who can come to our rescue," Quigley said. "Given the economic turmoil of this time, people are getting nervous about making gifts of this magnitude."
For Quigley, the federal funding has been about better accessibility to the public, in ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø and beyond.
"It’s depriving the public of information about collections that they rightly should have. It’s all about accessibility. We can’t possibly show a large percentage of our collection at any given time. To provide digital access is the next best thing," Quigley said.
The loss of that funding leaves a big question mark about the future of some priorities.
"They kind of help keep the lights on. They do all the back-end work," he said about IMLS funding. "Nobody else pays for that."
