Federal funding for public libraries in Whatcom and Skagit counties is threatened by the Trump administration’s attempt to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a small agency that awards grants to museums and libraries across the country.
NPR reported on March 31 that the federal agency had placed its entire staff, around 70 employees, on administrative leave, two weeks after a White House executive order was issued in an effort to eliminate the IMLS, along with several other agencies. According to the nonprofit American Library Association, library funding draws less than 0.003% of the federal budget.
The Washington State Library receives almost $4 million per year from IMLS that it uses for central services and distributes to libraries across the state.
Cost of e-book collections could go up
Library systems in Skagit and Whatcom counties are primarily supported by local funding, whether as part of a municipal budget (such as Mount Vernon Library Commons or Bellingham Public Library) or through a separate taxing district. However, many local libraries offer additional programming and access to digital media thanks to funding passed down from the IMLS through the state library.
Digital collections in the Washington Anytime Library — free audiobooks, e-books and periodicals — are funded and maintained by the state library for small and mid-sized libraries that couldn’t otherwise afford to provide such a service. Nearly all of the state’s public library systems in communities with populations under 100,000 are members of the digital library consortium. (Whatcom County Library System, as a founding member of the consortium, is also a participant in Washington Anytime Library even though it exceeds the population limit.)
Federal grants enable additional offerings
Chazlyn Lovely, the marketing specialist and teen librarian at Upper Skagit Library in Concrete, said if funding for the state library is decreased, libraries like USL that participate in the Washington Anytime Library program will have to find new ways to fund their digital collection access, either by seeking more property taxes or cutting other services.
Lovely outlined a list of creative programs offered at Upper Skagit Library thanks to federal funding, including, most recently, investments in the library’s already-thriving Dungeons & Dragons clubs for adults and teens. With IMLS funding through the state library, the library purchased supplies like a 3D printer and trained staff in how to transform tabletop roleplaying games into a collaborative learning experience for participants. USL also plans to pay for D&D gameplay translations into Spanish and American Sign Language.
“Essentially the IMLS/WSL funding enabled us to rapidly expand our existing program, and make it more accessible and inclusive,” Lovely said.
Furthermore, she believes USL is a leader in the state for “finding ways to bridge the digital divide” in a community with many pockets of inadequate internet access. Thanks to federal and state funding, the library has several wired and wireless connections to provide high-speed internet to staff and patrons, even outside of operating hours.
Chauncey Gummere, the marketing specialist at Central Skagit Library District in Sedro-Woolley, said if IMLS funding is reduced, Central Skagit Library too will see impacts in areas such as e-book offerings, professional development grants and free books from the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library for vision-impaired readers.
In fiscal year 2024 alone, the state library gave IMLS grants to Lummi Nation, Samish Indian Nation, Nooksack Indian Tribe and Swinomish Indian Tribal Community to improve and expand tribal library offerings.
Lummi Indian Business Council used some of its grant to start its own tabletop roleplaying game program, while the Susan Wilbur Early Education Center of the Swinomish Tribe hosted Native storytellers and Samish Indian Nation bolstered its digital collection. The Nooksack Tribal Library intends to use a $50,000 federal grant to replace outdated computers and implement interactive language software and virtual reality viewings of culturally important places and events.
Local support as an alternative to federal funds
More than 95% of the annual revenue that supports Whatcom County Library System comes from local property taxes. However, WCLS Community Relations Manager Mary Vermillion said reductions to federal funding will be felt locally if WCLS no longer has access to state library resources such as staff training grants and rural history digitization projects.
WCLS has 10 locations throughout the county, including on Lummi Island and Point Roberts, and operates a bookmobile to serve isolated communities like Glenhaven and Lake Samish.
In response to inflation and increased demand for library services, WCLS has been weighing the possibility of a property tax increase among other options to decrease expenses and raise revenue.
Library staff and board members held a series of budget listening sessions around the county in February and March, and the board of trustees voted on March 28 to place a levy lid lift on the Aug. 5, 2025 ballot. The library system’s last levy proposal was 16 years ago.
“As federal and state support for public libraries dwindles, local support in the form of property tax becomes essential,” Vermillion said.
Julia Tellman writes about civic issues and anything else that happens to cross her desk; contact her at juliatellman@cascadiadaily.com.
