Works on paper — such as a sepia-toned photograph or a sketch with fading lines — are some of the most delicate objects in a museum’s collection.
That’s why the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk used a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to start fundraising to house its collection of nearly 10,000 works on paper.
The Goode Works on Paper Center, established in 2022 and now open, has state-of-the-art storage to preserve prints and photographs and a study room for visitors to view the collection.
“These objects are more light sensitive, so they can’t be out on view all the time,” explained Erik Neil, director of the Chrysler. “But we wanted to make them accessible to our public.”
Preserving cultural artifacts and making them available “is one of the things that really drives us,” Neil said.
Chrysler shares this mission with museums and libraries nationwide, and it has been supported by the IMLS, an independent federal agency that provides funding for projects and initiatives.
However, the future of the IMLS — and the projects it supports — is uncertain, after it landed in the crosshairs of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and an executive order issued by President Donald Trump in mid-March.
Congress established the IMLS to help people access the information, ideas and stories contained in museums and libraries, according to its mission statement.
The Trump administration put nearly all staff on administrative leave shortly after issuing the executive order. Reports nationwide of museums and libraries losing funding came pouring in; the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, Massachusetts, lost a grant it was using to digitize its collections, and the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library in Seattle said cuts would harm patrons who rely on its services.
Thursday, a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order to block the Trump administration’s dismantling of the IMLS — days before a mass layoff was set to take effect on May 4.
The IMLS awarded $9.7 million to institutions in Virginia last year, including $32,000 to the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art in Virginia Beach, $650,000 to The Mariners’ Museum and Park in Newport News and roughly $1.4 million to Old Dominion University.
Neil said the Chrysler often turns to the IMLS for technical grants related to storage or preservation.
The grant for the works on paper preservation didn’t cover the cost of building the Goode Center, but it gave the project a seal of legitimacy that kicked off private fundraising for the remainder. The IMLS awarded $136,000 in 2019 and the Goode family donated $2.5 million.
While the Chrysler receives funding from a variety of sources, Neil worries about the fate of smaller museums and libraries.
“This could be devastating to projects.”
He said the IMLS is a “very noncontroversial " organization. It was founded after Congress passed the Museum and Library Services Act in 1996. Congress appropriated about $300 million to the IMLS for 2025.
“It is one of the most efficiently run places you can imagine,” Neil said. “The money gets well-used, and was certainly well-used by us. And I think we multiplied the benefits to our community.”
