Maryland Congressional Delegation Announces $475,000 in American Rescue Plan Funding for Maryland’s Museums and Libraries

U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Congressmen Steny H. Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Kweisi Mfume, Anthony G. Brown, Jamie B. Raskin and David Trone (all D-Md.) today announced $474,461 in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding through the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to support museums and libraries as they make adjustments related to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Our museums and libraries serve as essential cultural and learning hubs in our communities. The demand for their resources, whether in person or online, has grown during the pandemic,” said the lawmakers. “Through the digitization of their collections and the creation of hybrid curriculums, this federal investment will expand Marylanders access to the many resources our libraries have to offer.” 

Funding comes through the IMLS ARP grants program which was established to support communities through COVID-19 by enhancing museum and library resources. This statewide funding will allow museums and libraries to digitize their collections, enhance their student outreach, and increase the accessibility of their content. Awardees include:

• $50,000 for the B&O Railroad Museum, Inc. in Baltimore to improve its website and bring the museum’s collections and archives online publicly and to update its virtual programming, especially for students learning from home during the pandemic 

• $30,283 for the Baltimore Children’s Museum Inc. to develop programs that support children with disabilities and help alleviate some of the added stress that these children, families, and educators have had to endure due to the pandemic 

• $50,000 for the Baltimore Museum of Art to implement hybrid versions of their successful in-person learning programs for elementary school age children

• $50,000 for the Chesapeake Children’s Museum in Annapolis to add features to their heathy nutrition and activity content as well as to facilitate workshops

• $36,000 for the Jewish Museum of Maryland in Baltimore to increase their digital services and accessibility. The museum will hire a communications and content coordinator to meet the increasing demand for hybrid programming

• $44,000 for London Town Foundation in Edgewater to relaunch and rebuild its Horticultural Education Programs by rehiring a horticultural educator to jumpstart the park's new gardens-based curriculum 

• $49,918 for the Maryland Department of Planning to support the Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum in St. Leonard to implement a project to preserve and understand the region's cultural heritage, specifically, its agricultural history

• $40,000 for Prince George’s County Memorial Library System in Largoto expand access to computer technology and the internet in a county in which 36% of individuals do not have broadband internet access at home

• $48,535 for Sandy Spring Museum, the state-designated Regional Folklife Center of Montgomery County, to promote and rebuild folk tradition and folk artist capacity that was lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic 

• $50,000 to Trustees of the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore to hire a Curriculum Resource Specialist and a School Programs Outreach Educator to create and develop new ways for the museum to reach out to students in a post-COVID environment

• $13,575 for the Ward Foundation to fund the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art in Salisbury in presenting a suite of materials that focuses on a new series of artwork that reflects Black experiences on Maryland’s Eastern Shore 

• $12,150 for the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts in Hagerstown to build an augmented reality platform and an engaging outreach curriculum for students at home, in childcare, in the classroom, or at the museum