A major digitization project at the National World War I Museum and Memorial is in limbo due to uncertainty over a $250,000 federal grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, whose entire staff was put on leave Monday.
The institute awarded the National World War I Museum and Memorial the money in 2024 as part of a two-year grant to support digitization of the museum’s collection; including posters, maps and camp newspapers; to make them available to the public on its online collections database. The grant was also expected to support the hire of a full-time digitization technician.
The museum has had no word about whether the grant will still move forward.
The museum and memorial contracted with Anderson Archival in St. Louis, Missouri, a company that specializes in historical document preservation and large format scanning for museums.
President and CEO Matthew Naylor said a shipment of World War I-era maps was ready to go, but the uncertainty about funding has made him nervous.
“We're sort of in a holding pattern at the moment because quite frankly, we don't know what's happening, and that's part of the predicament,” he said.
The Trump administration issued an executive order March 14 to shrink seven federal agencies, including the institute, until they are “eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.”
The effort is part of the administration's efforts to reduce the federal bureaucracy.
Since 2022, several local institutions have benefitted from the institute's funding, according to the agency’s dashboard — including Powell Gardens, The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures, and The American Jazz Museum. Each institution undergoes a rigorous assessment process during the application process.
In fiscal year 2024, the following organizations in western Missouri and eastern Kansas received grants:
- National WWI Museum and Memorial: $250,000
- Powell Gardens: $217,000
- Cass County Historical Society: $25,000
- Prairie Band Potawatami Nation: $10,000
- Kansas State Library: $2,109,780
The WWI Museum hoped its digitization project would reduce the need to handle 100-year-old artifacts; provide images for the development of exhibitions and programs and allow scholars, researchers, educators, and the public to better access its collections.
“Our collections online are providing the stories of American servicemen, families who were impacted by the war industries and their records,” Naylor said. “It's providing that story to schoolteachers, to high school, middle school students, and so many others who have an interest in this work.”
Tracy Dennis, a digitization program manager at the museum, works in the Bergman Family Gallery and Open Storage Center. The fragile military maps are some of the most requested items from the museum’s collection. Making them available online will help preserve them.
“We don't have that many of them currently digitized,” Dennis said. “We really need a bigger scanner to be able to capture these fine details.”
Naylor said museums and libraries enjoy bipartisan support. Around 350,000 visitors from around the globe visit the museum each year, and millions explore its online galleries for free.
“The vast majority of people want there to be community funding for museums,” Naylor said. “My hope is that, as the dust settles, that there is still a commitment for the funding of these very important community assets.”
