History jobs aren’t easy to come by. So when a position for a digital archivist opened at the University of Wyoming in 2020, Rachael Laing uprooted their life near Chicago for small-town Laramie.
Laing, who has a master’s degree in history, has spent the last five years undertaking a project to digitize hundreds of thousands of historic Wyoming newspaper microfilm pages and make them free to the public.
The project is part of National Digital Newspaper Program, a partnership between the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress to create a searchable online database of newspapers. Laing and other archivists contributed files to Chronicling America, which is now home to millions of pages of American newspapers published between 1789-1963. Laing’s position was seeded by a $209,000 grant from the Humanities Endowment.
The UW Libraries grant has been renewed in the five years since, paying for Laing to facilitate the total addition of nearly 300,000 pages of Wyoming newspapers to the database.
Last week, however, the grant was terminated as part of significant cuts made to the National Endowment for the Humanities by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
And Laing was abruptly out of a job.
Though Laing’s own life and career have been disrupted by the sudden firing, the archivist is more concerned about the fate of the project.
“I liked that the work seemed important,” said Laing, who uses they/them pronouns. “It felt like we were creating something that was going to be very helpful to a lot of people.”
The project is among the latest Wyoming casualties of DOGE, which Trump champions as a voter-backed effort to reduce federal bureaucracy and expenditures. DOGE cuts have resulted in an array of Wyoming impacts — from U.S. Forest Service employees losing their jobs in Jackson to federal office closures in Cheyenne and sudden funding cuts for organizations like Wyoming Humanities.
For Laing, it all happened incredibly fast, and they are still reeling. They are also saddened to think about the scope of programming nationwide that was axed without preamble.
“I’m just really disappointed that suddenly this federal agency that was dispersing grants to really amazing projects was just … washed away,” Laing said.
Frozen, aborted
Last week’s cuts targeted two federal agencies, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute for Museum and Library Studies. Actions included placing staff on administrative leave and cancelling grants, according to reports.
The National Endowment for the Humanities was founded in 1965, under the same legislation that enacted the more well-known National Endowment for the Arts. The Humanities Endowment has awarded more than $6 billion in grants to museums, historical sites, universities, libraries and other organizations, according to its website.
A significant piece of the Humanities Endowment’s overall funding, 40%, goes to state humanities councils like Wyoming’s. Those councils act as umbrellas, partnering with other organizations to support cultural events or awarding grants to projects. Humanities councils in all 50 states received notice last week that their grants were being terminated, according to reports.
“Your grant no longer effectuates the agency’s needs and priorities and conditions of the Grant Agreement and is subject to termination due to several reasonable causes,” read the letter that Wyoming Humanities received, adding “the NEH is repurposing its funding allocations in a new direction in furtherance of the President’s agenda.”
NEH funding makes up 80% of Wyoming Humanities’ budget, covering staff expenses, travel, marketing and other operational costs for the nonprofit. Staff is reconsidering the group’s future in the wake of the change.
Along with state councils, the Humanities Endowment funds individual projects in Wyoming. These include a recent grant to Meeteetse Museums to replace its roof and install solar panels and another grant to the Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum to update Indigenous interpretation. Both were terminated, according to museum directors.
The federal agency also funded the UW Libraries grant. Laing’s first indication of trouble happened early Thursday, they said, when a person connected to a similar project in Florida contacted them asking if they knew what was going on. All that day, Laing heard grim updates from across the country from people who had been notified of cancelled grants.
“So it was kind of like watching the dominoes fall, and I was just sort of waiting to get the news,” Laing said. Their supervisor delivered that news on Friday. “My job had just been dissolved.”
Keeping history alive
Laing has spent much of the past five years in a windowless basement office, painstakingly digitizing microfilm newspapers for the project. It’s quiet work, and it suits them.
Laing gathered microfilmed newspapers from the Wyoming State Archive and worked with vendors to digitize and format the files. The result is that issues of newspapers such as the Platte Valley Lyre, Cody Enterprise and Cheyenne Daily Leader are now on the database. They reach back to 1873, when in a June issue the Daily Leader announced Byer’s Hotel and French Restaurant in Cheyenne was back open following a remodel, and that in Chicago, railroad executive Horace Clark had fallen ill.
With interest in genealogical research growing, Chronicling America eases access for amateur historians who no longer have to visit these libraries in person to scan microfilm records, Laing said.
During each two-year grant cycle, Laing endeavored to digitize 100,000 pages. The project was nearing the end of its third grant cycle, with about 10,000 pages remaining to satisfy the goal, they said.
Laing was actually planning to move on from the job at the end of the year. That fact may take some of the sting out of the loss, but still, they said, “there’s never a good time to lose your job.”
Since the termination notice arrived, Laing’s supervisors have been trying to come up with a plan and have been very supportive, they said. Laing and others are worried about the integrity of the collective work in the long run.
“For a long time, we thought that we were building something that was going to last,” Laing said, “and now for the last couple of days, we’ve been accounting for all of that data, just in case all of that work is lost.”
Other impacts
It has been less clear how cuts to the second federal agency, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, will affect Wyoming. WyoFile requested an interview with State Librarian Abby Beaver and had not heard back by publication time. But in an open letter on its website, the Wyoming Library Association said IMLS funds are granted to the Wyoming State Library and pay for a statewide database, staff development and training opportunities.
Last year, 633 nationwide grant recipients entered into legally binding agreements with IMLS, according to library advocacy group Every Library. “The sudden termination of these grants not only breaches these agreements but also undermines the essential services that libraries and museums provide to communities across the nation,” the organization said in a statement accompanying a petition. The petition oppose the “unlawful” actions.
The National Humanities Alliance, meanwhile, rallied against the Humanities Endowment cuts.
“We condemn these actions in the strongest possible terms,” the coalition of cultural advocacy groups said in a statement. “Cutting NEH funding directly harms communities in every state and contributes to the destruction of our shared cultural heritage.”
For Laing, the prevailing feeling is disappointment. They brought up a recent talk they gave to a Wyoming historical society, where members kept Laing and their supervisor late with questions.
“They seemed really excited about the potential of the project,” Laing said, “and to know that that’s just something that might completely go away seems like a lot of wasted time and effort.”
If this means so.much to the citizens of Wyoming, let them pay for it. I am from Missouri and currently live in Texas and have my own history to worry about.
Every state in the US has received similar grants for Chronicling America. These type of grants have made it possible for you to read about Texas and Missouri history.
It’s a good but sad article, and an indictment of the times. I feel sorry for Liang and others affected by the cuts and the program as a whole. I hope they are able to find a way to keep the project going . I have a friend that voluntarily transcribes documents written in cursive to digital print format. I wonder if they couldn’t reach out to student volunteers looking for community or academic projects, as a way to continue the work.
Will Musk take this over and Monitize it? This Free Resource looks like a Great opportunity to profit.
Smart
You have endowments. Use that. You have e cash you’ll never even use. Wean off the public tit. Volunteers from this community would be more than happy for a ride and some food. There’s a war on the leftist gravy train. Use their big pockets . OH THATS RIGHT .NOT THEIR POCKETS.
What good is knowing history anyway? Could it remind us to question the bad decisions of shabby leaders, or fight against would-be dictators, or treat all of our fellow human beings with dignity and respect, or help our neighbors and even people that we don’t even know, based upon our knowledge of the past? The loss of this archiving effort as about the same as muzzling free speech and hiding real historical facts, even when they make us a little uncomfortable. Rational people in Wyoming and elsewhere need to contact their remote political gods in Cheyenne and Washington and make them accountable. But please remember that they won’t come to you because they are too sensitive to criticism.
Wyoming has a thing with getting rid of historic materials and property. This post doesn’t really have anything to do with the article. In Evanston they tear down buildings that still had a lot of life left in them. A few years ago, the high school was torn down because the school board in Cheyenne said they had too much school property in Evanston. They never bothered to put it on the National Register of Historic Place or looked for a buyer. The year before they tore it down the put new windows in it and air conditioning. I was on the Uinta County Economic Board and suggested they could save the money of destroying the building and bring new development. We had a chiropractic school and a nursing school and others that that were interested and would have been perfect for it. They might have been able to sell it and make money and provide private services instead of spending money tearing down historic properties. Part of downtown Evanston were torn down for an ugly parking lot. When it could have been used for retail and office space by private owners. I love WyoFile but they could become what they are and offer space for Wyoming people like letters to the editor. Evanston is about to tear down the old state hospital at a cost of five million dollars when it too could be used for needed housing or as historic hotel or used for a lot of good use. Old Main at the University is a good example of what you can do with valued historic property. Evanston saved the old depot and use it with value. We almost lost it. Evanston also restored the old depot, the round house and machine that they use a lot. Thank you for allowing me to post this.
Doge is destroying more lives and finding less waste than the Inspector-Generals that Trump fired. Those are the facts but Musk and Trump know that the GOP voters will believe lies and those lies will become the truth. Just check the comments.
The work of digitizing newspapers was not complete and could have really used some editing and cross checking to become really useful. I used the newspaper archive to find out that Dick Cheney’s mentor was really worried about the public losing its understanding of our Constitution and I believe he was right. Dick’s daughter got the lesson finally but it is obvious the rest of the public is woefully ignorant of the power of the people.
So. The university doesn’t have enough money of its own to keep her employed? All the millions of $$$$ sitting in its endowment fund. Free money gifted to them. Yet they can’t keep her employed? Something very wrong with the system.
Correct
I’m sure that it’s a worthwhile project. And that residents from the state of Wyoming should be very proud. We’d also expect that they can pay for that. And also not pay for a thousand other projects in California.
I guess she can learn to code. Now that the energy workers can get back to work, the coding and other green jobs they were told to go get should be open again.
While you feel for anybody that loses their job, the Federal government and by extension the State government have to stop spending money. It’s unsustainable.
but tax breaks for corporations and the ultra wealthy are ok to you chrumpers, right Rob?
Yes. You are welcome to give your tax breaks back to the IRS at any time. TYVM.
Do you really think you’ll see the same cuts? You prove why chrump loves the uneducated
I am surprised there are newspapers in Wyoming. From what I have seen and heard from the Wyoming representatives and senators, I didn’t think anyone in the state could read with a decent level of comprehension.
I wonder why if this is such an important issue for Wyoming, why wouldn’t Wyoming pay to hire her? Wolf Wolf Wolf. Keep crying Wolf when there’s no problem.
But they’re cutting fraud and waste! At the same time we need a 5 trillion tax cut mostly for the top 1%. And that’s on top of the debt increase last time Trump was there of 7.8 trillion.
I agree with your first two sentences.
The reason why Rachael Laing is referred to as “they” is because this person would like to use they/ them pronouns, as stated in the article. And that’s fine, if I know ahead of time it’s not a problem. It’s not hurting me by using their pronouns. It does make some writing ambiguous though sometimes.
If this is important to the people of Wyoming then let the Wyoming taxpayers fund it.
The death of William McKinley was reported in a Wyoming newspaper and this article seems to suggest this was one of the reasons this project was needed. There are many other sources of that information, not the least, Wikipedia.
Five years to digitalize a project seems like plenty of time. The job should be done. Grant funding is not permanent.
“NEH is repurposing its finding and allocations in a new direction in furtherance of the President’s
agenda.”
Congress established the NEH and set its goals and objectives. The role of the President is to ensure that the laws passed by Congress and the funding allocated is is properly complied with. There is nothing that gives the President authority to repurpose funding or change legislation in “furtherance of the President’s agenda.” I would be willing to bet there isn’t a single person in the WH who knows what his agenda for NEH is. Everything he’s doing is trying to raise money to fund the tax breaks he promised his billionaire donors. The loss of those tax dollars has to come from somewhere so let’s cut medicaid. bLM, education, health research, NEH, etc.
I think the only agenda is to destroy government. There is no thought out plan.
Continuous Improvement comes with upheaval. I don’t understand why Dems are suddenly against burning down the government? They sure seem to enjoy destroying everyone’s property.
Again with the Medicaid lie. I hope you refer to the Bureau of Land Management, but sadly I doubt you do. We absolutely should cut out a national dept of Ed, the NEH, and the NEA. There is plenty of money medical research, that does not all have to come from the government. You are welcome to give back your tax breaks to the IRS. Tax the rich is not a sustainable model for a civilization. Perhaps should follow Michelle’s advice and just scale back? You don’t see her giving up her $300+million, do ya?
Grants are temporary, and are not meant to be long term funding. Rachael’s job was like any other temporary job in any other industry. Why is Miss Laing being referred to as ‘they’ in this article?
The use of they and them as her choice of pronouns suggest she is gay or trans.
Smart
Our country is going bankrupt and we need to know that in 1873 a restaurant was remodeled and a railroad executive was sick?
I’m sure geneology folks who had relatives in Wyoming at some time appreciate it. Maybe people to whom it was important would donate for the completion. Maybe Wyoming has the funds. Up to now it was supported by taxes from all 50 states.
I would assume the 90 years digitized are available to the public. Why would the time on that be considered “wasted” just because there was still 10,000 pages to complete.
I am truly sorry for the disappointment of those involved, but the country cannot continue spending as it has, especially projects for specific states.
If we’re going bankrupt why are we adding 5 trillion to the debt for tax cuts. Pay the bills first.
Delegate the work to undergrads who can learn about the process and help keep the rest of us from doing everything wrong again.
On March 12 the US Senate confirmed Keith Sonderling, a Trump appointee, as Deputy Secretary of Labor. On March 18 he was also appointed acting director of the Institute of Museum and Library Service (IMLS) with the purpose of shutting down the agency.
Somewhat overlooked in the shock of his actions which include furloughing all employees and halting grants programs is his chilling statement on the purpose of the agency: “to restore focus on patriotism, ensuring we preserve our country’s core values, promote American exceptionalism and cultivate love of country in future generations.”
Mr. Sonderling is not only unqualified to direct the agency he is woefully ignorant about the purpose of libraries in a democracy. Shameful.
This resource is immensely important to genealogists!
Maybe they can pay for it then. They’ll certainly make sure the resources are being efficiently used.
So how much was they being paid for this position each year? How much would it cost an intern hired from local high schools or colleges cost to perform the same work of digitizing from microfilm? Although relevant, these answers were never given. Were these questions asked? Since there’s none of these answers I will speculate that this work could be done for much less money. You don’t need a specialist to digitize microfilm or microfiche. If you don’t agree, cite the information or facts that demonstrate that a specialist is needed for this work. I have done work very similar to this a long time ago and there is no specialized training except for one day explanation on how to technically perform the job. According to the archivist there is 10,000 pages left and they were planning on leaving anyway. I have no doubt they could hire a high school or college student and complete the work for much less money. Or you could keep people employed for 3 to 4 to 10 times the amount of money the public should be spending on this.
Actually, to me it would be a good project for students to do without pay, with a teachers supervision. If I understand, the work under this grant was outsourced under her supervision.
We don’t need no stinkin’ history….
Why complain now? This is what Wyoming has voted for…for YEARS! Blame the Republican party, and remember this at the next election.
The gaslighting of saying “Your grant no longer effectuates the agency’s needs and priorities and conditions of the Grant Agreement and is subject to termination due to several reasonable causes,” is the same has saying all the federal employees were fired for “performance”. They have not clue what these grants were doing or if they were meeting the priorities or conditions of the Grant Agreement.
The lies and fake “justifications” just keep coming as they destroy America.
No, it’s the fit in line with OMB regulations in terms of characterizing someone’s release. If you were in the government you would know this.
It seems to me that a people without a history are easier to subjugate. Time to wake up folks. Remember that Trump said if you vote for me now you’ll not have to vote again!
This was an important project as anyone who has tried to access past editions of Wyoming newspapers knows . I suspect that a lot of Wyoming history could be amended by the results.Some way should be found to keep her on the job as most of it is already done, it seems . Can Wyofile ask it’s readers to contribute? As for Musk, he is empowered by Trump. He can’t do stuff like this without permission
I wouldn’t question you belief it is important to Wyoming, but it was being paid for by taxes from ALL 50 states.
But those states are also benefitting from the grants to humanities, no?, and are getting those cuts.
If Ed Seidel wants to win over the University after his disastrous handling of the Engineering College fiasco he should announce he is lowering his salary to match that of Ms. Laing, and rehire her.
Fired? Sounds suspiciously like a layoff. Sorry, I’m having trouble getting worked up. 4 years ago Biden terminated mine and 10,000+ other peoples project and we all lost our jobs.
Maybe if she had a full time job in the economy, she could volunteer on her personal time to continue this noble and worthwhile endeavor?
The foreign-born richest man in all of human existence who has never been elected to any position of power is deciding what happens in Wyoming’s libraries. If his name was Soros instead of Musk, his fanboys and cult followers would be rioting and attacking cops (again).
very good point. the soros boogeyman is the usual suspect in the gullible ol’ party’s pearl clutching. musk is open and honest about his money influencing politicians and policy and not a peep from the fake patriots.
the new age repubs are dishonest and have no integrity.
Musk is involved in decisions for the FEDERAL government. This grant related only to Wyoming. You are correct, the Federal government, representing and using the taxes of all 50 states, should not be making decisions regarding an individual state. Likewise, the Federal government should not be providing grant’s for an individual state. That should be Wyoming’s responsibility.
Gee JC, if only you had bothered to read the entire article, not just the headline. This grant was NOT solely related to Wyoming.
“ The National Endowment for the Humanities was founded in 1965, under the same legislation that enacted the more well-known National Endowment for the Arts. The Humanities Endowment has awarded more than $6 billion in grants to museums, historical sites, universities, libraries and other organizations, according to its website.
A significant piece of the Humanities Endowment’s overall funding, 40%, goes to state humanities councils like Wyoming’s. Those councils act as umbrellas, partnering with other organizations to support cultural events or awarding grants to projects. Humanities councils in all 50 states received notice last week that their grants were being terminated, according to reports. ”
Wyo is not the sole recipient of these grants. They are shared throughout the nation.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”
George Santayana
Ignorance is Republican.
The richest man in the world has decided that history has no value while the guy that could fire him is too busy playing golf and siccing the DOJ on people that have not bowed down.
Oh so sad how these sweeping cuts affect so many. Just the other day my wife, Leslie, was talking about how critically important the digitized newspaper files at UW Libraries are to her work, including the recent papers she wrote on the Second Ku Klux Klan in Wyoming that appeared in the winter 2024 edition of Annals of Wyoming. She is now writing a piece on the Second KKK in Wyo that will appear on WyoHistory.org based on those same digitized files. Such a loss for researchers of all ages and backgrounds.
Lying is Democratic. Obfuscation is Bipartisan.