Summary:
- North Carolina Libraries face funding challenges at the federal and local level.
- Trump’s war on DEI will potentially eliminate a major federal grant funding source for libraries, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
- At the county level, economic uncertainty and costs related to Hurricane Helene are adding to pressures on libraries from far-right hate groups like Moms for Liberty.
T.S. Eliot once wrote, “The very existence of libraries affords the best evidence that we may yet have hope for the future of man.”
He wasn’t wrong. Libraries are one of the few places where anyone, regardless of age or socio-economic status, can expand upon their formal education and deepen their understanding of the world. Even in the shadow of the digital revolution, libraries have evolved to provide access to the Internet, community programs, and all kinds of virtual and physical meda.
Unfortunately, libraries continue to face cuts to staffing, programming, and resources, as well as threats posed by groups that want to censor libraries, library workers, and their collections.
The Trump Administration is – shock! – not a fan of libraries
In North Carolina, most threats to funding are coming at the federal and local levels, as state government is primarily concerned with funding university libraries. Just this week, the Raleigh News & Observer wrote that Donald Trump and his administration are working to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), which “provides funding to libraries and museums, including some in North Carolina.” In 2024, 41 libraries across the state received $2.5 million in grants from IMLS.
INDY Week, which previously reported on the story, pointed out the ideological motivations behind the attack on libraries. Trump officials working on changes to IMLS claim they will “restore focus on patriotism,” and “preserve our country’s core values, promote American exceptionalism and cultivate love of country in future generations.”
Yet again, the Trump administration is putting the importance of its nationalist agenda ahead of the Jeffersonian idea that democracy doesn’t work without an educated electorate. Their attack on the values of inclusion, equity, and diversity has now brought MAGA to the doorstep of our local libraries.
Western North Carolina faces battles over library hours, content
However, despite federal meddling, the most important source of library funding in North Carolina is at the county level. While federal library grants most often go to programming and capital projects, and the State helps direct these grants, it’s county commissioners that make the most important administrative decisions with regard to our libraries.
In Western North Carolina, Hurricane Helene has put stress on county budgets, leading to hiring freezes at libraries, and reduced hours and services in counties like Buncombe. Paired with increased attacks on libraries from far-right groups, some conservative elected officials – like Jackson County Commissioner Jenny Lynn Hooper – are advocating for closing her county’s libraries altogether.
Unfortunately, she’s not alone. Jackson County is part of the Fontana Regional Library (FRL) system, which also includes Macon and Swain Counties, serves over 100,000 residents. However, Jackson County Commissioners are openly discussing leaving the FRL over the presence of LGBTQ books, and in February, the Smoky Mountain News reported that at least one Macon County Library Board member covertly wants to dissolve the library system altogether, and perhaps cut ties with the American Library Association.
North Carolinians love their libraries
Cutting library funding is a mistake, and it’s a decision some politicians may pay for at the ballot box. Of course, you don’t have to take my word for it. In North Carolina, local residents have historically opposed library closures.
In 2010, when Mecklenburg County libraries faced a funding crisis during the Great Recession, Mecklenburg County Commissioners faced intense pushback from the community over a proposed 50% cut to library services. The community rallied local towns and the City of Charlotte to make investments in the library system to prevent the harshest cuts to staffing levels, and members of the public donated $400,000 by the end of the fiscal year.
Eventually, the Mecklenburg County Commission added $3.5 million back into the budget.
Libraries and library workers continue to be a resource for our communities. Last year, actor and literacy advocate LeVar Burton partnered with the New York Public Library to extol the virtues of library staff:
“Library workers play a critical role in our communities by providing the building blocks for lifelong success, but they need your support,” wrote Burton. “They’re on the front lines, providing computer access, homework help, enrichment activities, and new life skills—or help finding the perfect book to get lost in. That’s no easy feat in a world where book bans are on the rise and libraries are forced to do more with less.”
