Opinions

Opinion: Federal funding keeps rural Alaska libraries open

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As a librarian working in rural Alaska, I see firsthand every day how heavily people rely on the library for many things beyond just books. Alaska is a large and rural state with many small libraries serving in some of the most remote and underserved communities in the nation. Today, I am writing to urge Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, to support at least the same amount of funding for libraries in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget as last year.

In my rural Alaska community, we have a fraction of the resources and funding that would be available in a larger population, but our demand is no less. To combat this, Alaska libraries leverage the small amount of federal funding that we get to efficiently provide statewide library programs and services that no single library could afford on their own, but that benefit library users, both urban and rural.

Some of these important statewide services include the electronic resources available through the Statewide Library Electronic Doorway, the Library Extension Service which makes books and electronic resources available to people living in communities without a public library, and the Talking Book Center for people who cannot read standard print by providing talking books and Braille service. A very small federal library grant, like the non-competitive $10,000 Native American Library Services basic grant, is what enables some smaller tribes to provide any library services at all. The minuscule amount of federal funding that makes services like these available to Alaskans has a big impact, especially in rural Alaska.

Of the $232 million in Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funding allocated last year, $1.3 million benefited Alaska Libraries and 38 tribes received a Native American Library Services grant, totaling $526,000. Without these funds, rural and lower-income communities with fewer resources will bear the brunt of the impact. It’s critical for rural communities that we have robust funding for library services at the federal level. Often, libraries are the only place where people in rural or lower-income communities can access digital technology or broadband internet, making the funding that supports these programs essential services for millions of Americans nationwide.

Federal library funding is crucial to the operation of our libraries in Alaska, and we need the Appropriations Committees in both houses of Congress to approve at least the same amount of funding in the FY26 budget as last year. I’m asking Sen. Murkowski to support continued funding and for Alaskans to show their support for our libraries by calling on Congress to do the same.

Theresa Quiner has been a librarian in Bethel for 10 years and is president of the Alaska Library Association. The views expressed in this article are her own and do not represent the views of her employer.

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