On April 9th, 2025, at 10:00pm, the Filson Historical Society received notice that the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) had terminated its Museums for America grant. According to the termination letter, they were told that the project “no longer serves the interest of the United States.”
The Filson was awarded a two-plus-year grant from IMLS in 2023. The grant was to provide $130,133 in funding through December 2025, supporting payroll costs for staff working to expand access to the organization’s unprocessed manuscript collections. The paper materials involved in this process include donated collections of letters, diaries, financial records, and other materials, all of which represent the untold or forgotten stories of families, churches, businesses, and community groups from across Kentucky and the Ohio Valley. As of April 9, $35,152 in awarded funds remained unused. In the face of the loss of federal funding, the Filson is committed to retaining staff members hired through the project’s scheduled conclusion in December. Thus far, the Filson has completed over three-quarters of the planned project work.
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This grant termination is one of several affecting cultural institutions and library systems across the country. Beyond the Filson, they will reduce the services of state and local library systems across the nation, weakening the healthy environment of literacy, civics, art, and history that has sustained our republic for 249 years.
“The preservation and accessibility of our region’s history is essential—especially in times of uncertainty,” said Filson leadership in a statement. “We remain steadfast in our mission to tell the stories of the people who built, shaped, and protected this city, region, and nation. The Filson is more than an archive. It is a space where all voices come together—our quilts and correspondence, portraits and uniforms tell the full, rich story of our shared past. At the Filson, we all belong.”
The terms of the grant provide the option to appeal the termination by May 12th. The Filson intends to follow through with this appeal and due process in an effort to reverse this decision. A detailed FAQ sheet about the grant and its termination is available on the Filson’s website. For additional information or to support the Filson’s ongoing mission, visit www.filsonhistorical.org.
Press release and information provided by Jamie Evans, the Filson Historical Society.
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This article appears in Apr 25 – May 8, 2025.