The Juneau Assembly is again looking to provide local funds to make up for recent federal cuts by the Trump administration, this time by providing $130,200 to prevent local public libraries from closing one day a week and reducing purchases of new materials.
However, the funds will not restore the Library Extension program that provides materials statewide, primarily to remote communities without libraries, which is scheduled to end July 1.
The money was added to next year’s municipal budget during a meeting of the Assembly’s Finance Committee on Wednesday night. It is still subject to further review, including public comment and a final vote by the Assembly at a meeting scheduled June 9.
In a similar shifting of burdens from federal to local level, Assembly members have also given tentative approval during the budget process of spending up to $200,000 in Marine Passenger Fees to help pay for staff lost at the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area. Most of its regular staff was fired as part of a mass purge of federal employees by the Trump administration.
The library’s dilemma arose due to an executive order issued March 14 by President Donald Trump ordering the reduction of staff and functions of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Catherine Melville, director of Juneau Public Libraries, told Assembly members Wednesday. A significant quirk is the Trump administration’s actions haven’t yet specifically targeted Juneau’s library services, but local officials are assuming the funds will be withheld since confirmation otherwise hasn’t been possible so far.
“The thing that is unique about it is that no one has actually come out and said that this money is not coming,” Melville said. “What has happened is the federal agency that typically administers these funds, they all got sent home and they haven’t been at work, and so we just don’t know.”
Assembly members were presented with two scenarios in a memo by Melville and Deputy City Manager Robert Barr: 1) provide the $130,200 to continue status quo operations or 2) close all locals for one weekday per week (and perhaps be open fewer hours other days), reduce new materials purchases and halt the interlibrary loan service between physical branches elsewhere in the state (which differs from the extension program to communities without libraries).
Melville said if the closure option was selected library officials would likely attempt a schedule similar to the COVID-19 pandemic when “we rotated the closed day around so that there was always a time when some library was open.” She also noted the library would be seeking to operate 35 fewer total hours a week, so fewer weekday closures of 10 days would be preferable to a higher number of weekend closures when branches are open fewer hours.
The Assembly unanimously approved adding the funding request to its draft budget. However, because the library extension program is performed on behalf of the state it was not included in the request for Assembly funds.
An April 29 letter sent by Melville to patrons of the by-mail extension program states “in the absence of clear communication that funding will be available to pay for staff, books, materials, supplies and postage, we must begin the process of shutting down the Alaska Library Extension.” Juneau has been responsible for the program statewide for the past decade, and she said during the past fiscal year 596 individuals in 87 communities received materials.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
