IDAHO FALLS, ID – At the Art Museum of Eastern Idaho in Idaho Falls, a program called the Teens at The Art Museum is meant to encourage youth to participate in museum activities.

“​​The demographic that visits museums is aging, and so teenagers and young adults are really the demographic that need to feel like a museum is a vital part of their community,” Amy Thompson, the museum’s development director, told the Idaho Capital Sun.

The program consists of a teen leadership council that plans art-related events throughout the year. Thompson said it gives youth the opportunity to learn marketing, leadership, community outreach and public speaking skills, and it encourages their peers to visit the museum.

The program is funded through a $10,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency that has funded millions of dollars in projects supporting libraries and museums throughout Idaho. Its other contributions include funding a quarter of the Idaho Commission for Libraries’ budget, providing interpretive signs at the Boise Zoo, supporting programs for individuals who are deaf at the Boise Art Museum, and supplying library materials to different Native American tribes across the state.

But funding for programs like hers is in jeopardy.

In late March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to reduce the federal agency to its “statutory functions,” ordering that “non-statutory components and functions shall be eliminated to the maximum extent.”

Since then, all the institute’s staff has been placed on administrative leave, NPR reported. This has caused delays in processing federal funds that have already been approved, and libraries have no way of contacting the agency. And so far three states, California, Washington and Connecticut, have all had their federal library funding cut.

As the federal government continues to reduce funding — including this month’s cut to the Idaho Humanities Council — organizations that rely on federal support, like the Idaho Commission for Libraries, are preparing in case they are next.

“I don’t know about how we’re going to fund it next year actually, but we’re hoping that we still can, because it’s kind of gaining momentum,” Thompson said. “It would be really sad to shut it down when we’re just getting speed.”

Idaho Commission for Libraries prepares for potential funding loss

Funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services makes up 26% of the Idaho Commission for Libraries’ funding, or on average $1.6 million each year.

So far, the commission has not had federal funding withheld, but on Friday, the commission held a special meeting to create a contingency plan in case its federal funding becomes unavailable.

The commission requested board approval to allocate $300,000 to cover personnel costs through the end of the fiscal year, which ends on June 30. The board approved the funding.

Some of the commission’s key programs that are federally funded include:

The Idaho Talking Book Service, a free audiobook library for Idahoans who are blind, have low vision or experience other qualifying conditions. The $435,200 in annual funding pays for six full-time workers who administer the program.My First Books/Early Learning, a program that has existed for more than 27 years and provides a book a month for eight months to children who are unlikely to have many books at home. Since the program began, it has served more than 68,000 Idaho youth, and distributed 617,000 books. It costs $114,880 each year.

Idaho Talking Book Service gives joy of literature to those facing obstacles in traditional reading

Other programs include the Library Linking Idaho databases, which provides Idahoans free 24/7 access to online education, business and recreation resources; programs and professional development for Idaho youth; and continuing education opportunities and training for Idaho library staff.

Processing for 2025 grants has ceased, and 2026 funding applications have paused, according to the Idaho Library Association.

“The Idaho Library Association implores President Trump to reconsider this adverse action against the Institute of Library Services and the millions of Americans who love and use their libraries,” the statement reads.

Two lawsuits have been filed to challenge Trump’s executive order. One lawsuit was filed by 21 states’ attorney generals is scheduled to be heard in court on Friday, and a second lawsuit was filed by Democracy Forward on behalf of the American Library Association.

Idaho Capital Sun is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Idaho Capital Sun maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Christina Lords for questions: info@idahocapitalsun.com.