In the early 2000s, the Wisconsin library system used some of its allocated federal funds to experiment with a new program: Libby, a platform where users can borrow e-books and audiobooks from their local library.
The program exploded in popularity — so much so that library staff worked to permanently include funding for e-books as part of the Wisconsin Legislature’s budget for libraries statewide.
But, although funding for e-books is now guaranteed at the state level, the staff and grants that helped first launch the program may both be gone soon under President Donald Trump’s ongoing efforts to slash federal spending. Funding for library internet services, statewide research databases and Wisconsin’s interlibrary loan program are all under threat.
And, most immediately, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s Bureau of Libraries, which first formed in 1895, would be almost entirely eliminated, according to Bureau of Libraries Director Ben Miller.
“We’ve got 130 years of traditions that are sort of at stake,” Miller said. “If we lose this funding, we would have to rebuild and start from scratch again.”
2014: An exterior view of the Milwaukee Public Library East Branch at 2320 N. Cramer St.
What is the Institute for Museum and Library Services, and is it shutting down?
The most urgent threat to Wisconsin library funding is the Trump administration’s efforts to eliminate the Institute for Museum and Library Science (IMLS).
The federal agency distributes millions of dollars to libraries nationwide, accounting for between 30% to 50% of state library budgets, according to the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies. In 2024, the IMLS provided $3.2 million in federal funds to Wisconsin libraries, Miller said.
In March, Trump issued an executive order to shut down the IMLS. Weeks later, Wisconsin was one of 20 states that sued the Trump administration over the slashed funding.
In a temporary win for the states, a federal judge ordered the administration in May to reinstate the funding. However, Congress is due to discuss shutting down the IMLS in September, and the Trump administration has made clear it wants to see the agency dismantled.
In anticipation of the cuts, Miller said DPI’s Bureau of Libraries has already paused parts of its discretionary grant program. Along with supporting new innovations and pilot projects in local libraries, the grants help fund continuing education for librarians — which for some positions, like library directors and school librarians, are required to keep practicing.
Though he hopes DPI can start redistributing these grants soon, Miller said the team is being “very cautious” before committing to do so, given the uncertainty of federal funding.
“We’re looking at every alternative…if we can turn over any rocks, if we can find any other funding sources,” he said.
What would happen to Wisconsin libraries if federal funding cuts move forward?
If the IMLS shuts down, several key library services in Wisconsin could be under threat.
The programs in jeopardy include internet services for rural libraries, the statewide interlibrary loan program, and BadgerLink, Wisconsin’s online library of research databases. And the DPI’s Bureau of Libraries would shrink from 19 full-time employees to between two and three employees, Miller said.
“If we lose those staff and those humans that do the work, we’re going to see some pretty terrible outcomes in the short-term,” Miller said.
The federal funding cuts would leave libraries with two choices: either obtain more local funding from municipalities, paid for by taxpayers, or begin slashing services. Either way, Miller said, Wisconsin residents would begin to feel the effects.
On at least the state level, Wisconsin’s library systems are “well-funded” for at least the next two years in latest budget passed by the Wisconsin Legislature, according to Deb Marett, public information coordinator for the Milwaukee County Federated Library System.
“We are well-supported by the state of Wisconsin. It’s bipartisan. Everybody loves libraries,” Marett said of the state budget. “But that would still not cover the slack of what will be lost with IMLS.”
In particular, Marett said she’s concerned about what would happen to interlibrary loans in Wisconsin if IMLS shuts down. Wisconsin has one of most successful interlibrary loan programs in the country, with more than 90% of requests fulfilled.
“If you live in a tiny town in northern Wisconsin, and you want a book, but your library doesn’t have it, they can reach out to other libraries in almost the whole world in some cases,” Marett said.
A group attends a class at the Cargill Community Kitchen in the Milwaukee Public Library Mitchell Street Branch
Rural library systems in Wisconsin will be hit hardest by funding cuts
The Wisconsin libraries that would be hit hardest and quickest by an IMLS shutdown are the rural ones.
Though federal funds primarily support statewide library services and programs, rural library systems are more likely to get direct funding from the federal government. That funding comes through the Library Services and Technology Act, a federal program run by the IMLS that provides local services like homework help, family literacy classes, summer reading programs and job application help, according to the American Library Association.
“Our rural libraries need the most help and assistance just because a lot of times at a rural library, you don’t have a large staff,” Miller said. “It’s like one person.”
These four Wisconsin library systems got the most in funding from the Library Services and Technology Act, according to DPI:
Wisconsin Valley Library Service: Expected to receive $127,737 in federal funds in 2025, which is 9% of its budget through DPI.
Northern Waters Library Service: Expected to receive $64,064 in federal funds in 2025, which is 8% of its budget through DPI.
Southwest Wisconsin Library System: Expected to receive $41,416 in federal funds in 2025, which is 7% of its budget through DPI.
Manitowoc-Calumet Library System: Expected to receive $37,741 in federal funds in 2025, which is 7% of its budget through DPI.
Meanwhile, the Milwaukee County Federated Library System receives just $3,000 of its approximately $4.2 million budget from federal funding. Still, even though the larger and urban library systems stand to lose less in the short-term, Marett said Wisconsin library staff see the funding cuts as a statewide issue.
In recent months, libraries across Wisconsin banded together to launch Speak Up for Libraries, a campaign against the federal funding cuts. As one of their first actions, the group printed 50,000 postcards to place in libraries statewide and encourage residents to write to their elected officials sharing why their local library matters to them
They quickly ran out of postcards and had to print more, Marett said.
“One of the things we like to say in the library world is a rising tide lifts all boats,” she said. “It all matters, whether it’s one county or one town or the whole state. It’s the greater concern of free access to information for everybody who wants it.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Here’s how Trump funding cuts would reduce Wisconsin library services