Outlook on Federal Funding Threats to Libraries

Several federal funding issues are currently under debate in Congress and could adversely affect libraries and library workers. These include a possible government shutdown if Congress doesn’t pass the fiscal year (FY) 2025 spending bill by March 14, President Trump’s proposed FY 2026 budget, and threats to broadband funding for libraries.

The following is what library workers need to know—and what they can do to stand up and speak out for needed resources.

Federal budget battles

The previous Congress’s failure to pass FY2025 spending bills that were due October 1, 2024, resulted in a temporary funding measure that extended federal spending at FY2024 levels through March 14. Now, nearly halfway into FY2025, congressional leaders are still divided on final spending levels.

If the FY2024 budget isn’t passed by the March 14 deadline, options include continuing with another temporary funding measure at FY2024 levels; cutting non-defense spending across the board, which requires cuts aligned to executive orders; or a government shutdown.

A shutdown would have cascading impacts across the nation, including customer service inquiries to the IRS grinding to a halt during tax season and a delay in paychecks to federal employees, and the closure of the Library of Congress and National Archives.

Libraries on federally owned land, such as military bases, may be temporarily disrupted or closed. Federal grant applications may be put on hold and delayed. However, in the event the shutdown is short, the shutdown’s effects on libraries would likely be minimal. The following activities would be expected to continue unhindered:

Student loan disbursements will continue as normal as an essential service.
Immediate funding to state libraries through the Library Services and Technology Act’s (LSTA) Grants to States program will not be affected since some funding has already been disbursed. State authorities will be able to continue supporting local programs and subgrants.
Some grant funding administered by the Department of Education was already disbursed to state agencies. Comprehensive Literacy State Development grants, Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) grants, and Title I Grants to Local Education Agencies are not likely to see a disruption.

However, actions the Trump administration may take in response to the shutdown are still in question, given the administration’s willingness to take unprecedented measures to defund federal initiatives. During Trump’s first term, the White House proposed major budget cuts or closures to library and library-related agencies and programs, and the same is expected for FY2026.

In 2017, President Trump proposed eliminating the IAL program and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, including nearly $200 million in LSTA funding. Congress rejected these efforts repeatedly thanks to vocal library advocates across the country. Now, with control of the House, Senate, and White House, fiscal conservatives are emboldened to cut trillions of dollars from the national budget.

More funding threats: broadband discounts and hotspots

Congress also is considering two joint resolutions that would end the new E-Rate hotspot lending program for libraries and schools, which was adopted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in July 2024. With the application deadline for E-Rate funding closing on March 26, nearly 1,000 libraries and schools have already applied.

The American Library Association (ALA) is actively defending the hotspot lending program on Capitol Hill. This program helps bridge the digital divide for under-resourced communities and for all library patrons in times of disaster and emergency. If passed, the resolution would permanently eliminate the program and leave little opportunity to reinstate connectivity programs in the future.

The Universal Service Fund (USF) case, currently pending with the US Supreme Court, is another front in efforts to undermine access to information and library funding. Universal service is the principle that all Americans should have access to communications services. USF supports the E-Rate program as well as others.

ALA filed an amicus brief in January in support of the FCC and the Schools, Health, and Libraries Broadband Coalition, the petitioners in this case. The brief affirms that the USF is constitutional and provides the library perspective on the importance of the E-Rate program and its uses across the country.

Oral arguments are set for March 26, with a decision expected in June. Many public interest groups and communities invested in universal service, including ALA, are coordinating to develop policy proposals that preserve USF programs and improve their sustainability. Education and awareness campaigns are ongoing to ensure that members of Congress recognize the value of the USF programs in their states.

Show Up for Our Libraries

Many member of Congress are not aware of the impacts of investing in libraries. Voters can communicate to them that cuts to LSTA and E-Rate will be painful for libraries and their communities.

In January, ALA launched a campaign to harness the collective power of library advocates to influence elected leaders and policymakers before decisions are made. Show Up for Our Libraries provides the following ways that advocates can help educate decision makers:

Sharing library stories that ALA can use in publications, media referrals, issue briefs, and meetings on Capitol Hill
Sending personalized emails and making phone calls to senators and representatives
Hosting a member of Congress for a library tour
Sharing the campaign with patrons and other stakeholders

These actions can help ensure that when threats to funding and other issues affecting libraries arise, elected leaders understand the opportunities that library programs, services, and staff members provide to their constituents.

Latest Library Links

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Phil Morehart writes: “Hubbard (Ohio) Public Library’s (HPL) oldest patron, Lily Walter, who celebrates her 105th birthday in May, stopped by the library last month to renew her library card. She told the library she has loved reading and libraries for 101 years—as long as she can remember. Lily got her first library card at age four, and it began a lifelong love of the library. She volunteered at HPL during her 80s and 90s and said she was fascinated by learning about library circulation and what people did—and didn’t—read.”

I Love Libraries, Mar. 14
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Briana Mendez-Padilla writes: “To encourage students to read novels, teachers can employ strategies such as allowing students to choose their books, encouraging them to read ones outside their comfort zone, and providing supplemental reading materials. The reading of novels is being sacrificed for short passage reading because students are more likely to encounter these texts in standardized tests, said Alex Corbitt, assistant professor of literacy at the State University of New York at Cortland. Corbitt encourages teachers to create book clubs that are thematically organized but with three or four different novel options at varying reading levels for students to choose from.”

K-12 Dive, Mar. 19
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Barbara M. Pope and Samantha Thompson-Franklin write: “Students with disabilities attending institutions of higher education without accessible library resources and students who are unaware of available resources may be unable to fully participate in or complete their education. Accessibility in library resources and services helps to eliminate those barriers, but the information must be communicated to those who need it, including student disability services, teaching faculty, and students themselves. Ideally, academic libraries should collaborate with campus partners to assess existing resources and services to provide accessible learning and support materials.”

Journal of Creative Library Practice, Mar. 25
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Mike Olson writes: “Library catalogs have always been battlegrounds where content is not merely described but debated. President Trump’s Executive Order 14172 directing the renaming of longstanding geographical designations ‘Mount Denali’ and ‘Gulf of Mexico’ to the politically loaded ‘Mount McKinley’ and ‘Gulf of America’ reveal the naked truth of what cataloging has always been: a battlefield where meaning is contested and conquered. When catalogers implement politically motivated terminology changes, they become unwilling performers in a linguistic ritual that normalizes certain worldviews while erasing others. But there’s potential for subversion within these systems.”

The Scholarly Kitchen, Mar. 25
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Jonah Aragon writes: “There is a growing sentiment that the US shouldn’t be relied upon for the technologies that many people and businesses use every day. At Privacy Guides, we generally value technical guarantees over matters like jurisdiction. There is simply no alternative to privacy technologies like strong end-to-end encryption when it comes to protecting your information. Tools from the European Union (EU) also generally benefit from much stronger data protection laws, thanks to the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation. Here’s a non-exhaustive list of some of our favorites.”

Privacy Guides, Mar. 19
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Hannah Fingerhut writes: “Iowa cannot, for now, continue to enforce part of its book ban law, US District Judge Stephen Locher said March 25. The decision temporarily blocks the part of the law that prohibits school libraries and classrooms from carrying books that depict sex acts. In his decision, Locher stated that the unconstitutional applications of the book restrictions ‘far exceed’ the constitutional applications ‘under both legal standards the Court believes are applicable.’ Expecting an appeal, Locher included an alternative standard through which the restrictions could be considered constitutional, but added he does not believe it should be applied in this case.”

Associated Press, Mar. 25; May 26, 2023
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Kim Chandler writes: “The Alabama Public Library Service Board of Trustees voted Thursday to withhold state funding from the Fairhope Public Library after complaints from conservative parents about books in the teen section. Board Chairman John Wahl, who is also the chair of the Alabama Republican Party, said board members believe the Fairhope library is in violation of state policies to protect children from inappropriate materials. The books cited by the upset parents included Sold, a National Book Award finalist about a girl who is sold into sexual slavery in India. Read Freely Alabama has started a fundraiser to try to replace the $42,000 in state funding.”

Associated Press, Mar. 21