Utah cultural engagement director outlines Museum of Utah, bookmobile services and America250 plans

Donna Lai, executive director of the Utah Department of Cultural and Community Engagement, described a range of statewide programs on the Utah Libraries Have You Covered program broadcast from the Utah State Library for the Blind and Disabled.

Lai spoke about preservation work and public programming that the department oversees, from collections moving into the forthcoming Museum of Utah to services for blind and dyslexic patrons and an array of community-engagement efforts tied to America250, the yearlong statewide commemoration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Lai said she came to the department after a varied career that included aviation work at SkyWest Airlines and long service with regional Shakespeare festivals. "I was invited to the Governor's Mansion to interview on 12/10/2023," she said, and she described a rapid transition into the role ahead of the legislative session.

The Museum of Utah: Lai said the Museum of Utah will open in 2026 and that about 970 artifacts that had been in storage will be available to the public when the galleries open. She described the new display and storage space in the North Capitol Building as purpose-built to improve care and access for those items.

Statewide preservation and community programs: Lai described the State Historic Preservation Office’s volunteer network — about 400 volunteers who monitor cultural sites — and highlighted programs such as Utah Main Street, which she said includes 18 communities. She noted the department supports historic-tax-credit work and cultural storytelling projects.

Services for blind and disabled patrons: Hosts and Lai emphasized the State Library’s services for patrons who are blind or have print disabilities. "We do have the world's largest braille and audiobook library," the hosts said on the program, and Lai described materials including thermoform braille copies and audio players available for eligible borrowers. The library also provides services to children with dyslexia; hosts recounted giving a 12-year-old dyslexic child a thermoform book, an audio version and a player, which they said transformed the child’s access to reading.

Education, STEM and volunteer initiatives: Lai highlighted the STEM Action Center, funded by the legislature about a decade ago, as a hands-on hub where students and families can learn through makerspaces and tinker sessions. She also described the department’s volunteer programs (You Serve Utah) and cited a recent community cleanup in Vernal as an example of coordinated state support.

America250 Utah: Lai outlined America250 Utah work, saying the state commission (appointed in 2023) is pursuing six initiatives, including plans to prepare 500 teachers in civics, encourage residents to move 250 miles for fitness activities during the year and coordinate 250 service projects. She cited private- and nonprofit-sector partners, including Zions Bank, Intermountain Health and the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation, that are supporting programming.

Small regulatory programs and staff expertise: Lai also noted smaller, specialized programs within the department, including the Pete Suazo Utah Athletic Commission, a two-person team that oversees mixed-martial-arts safety, and staff with specialist skills — librarians, historians, PhDs, preservation architects and a forensic anthropologist — who support cultural preservation and repatriation work. "If you find bones in your backyard, yes, you call us first," she said, describing repatriation work with tribal partners as a "sacred responsibility."

No formal actions or votes were announced on the program. Lai and the hosts closed by emphasizing the department’s role in connecting libraries, museums and communities statewide and the department’s work in the year ahead.