For The People Newsletter Vol. XXVII
For everyone working to strengthen and expand public libraries
Data Collection Project Update
As newsletter regulars know, one of For The People’s top goals is collecting data on public library system governance. Library boards are under-researched and essentially missing from all long-running library research surveys. Thanks to the incredible work of hundreds of FTP volunteers, we’ve now closed our data research project! Thank you to all who engaged in this important work.
Our goal was to find the official website and library board member selection method as well as 6 other governance-related data points for every public library system in the United States. We approached this work in two phases: the first focused on what we could collect on our own online, and the second phase involved direct outreach to library systems to fill in the gaps. The total list of data points we pursued is detailed below and you can see how successful we were at gathering details for each.
What is the official website of this library system? (98% complete)
Are positions on the board elected or appointed? (87% complete)
Where does this library system share details related to their governing board (board of trustees, board of control, etc.)? (78% complete)
Where does the library system share details related to their upcoming board meetings? (60% complete)
Where does the library system share meeting notes ("minutes") from past board meetings, or agenda documents for past/upcoming board meetings? (49% complete)
Are board meetings in-person only, or accessible to remote attendees online as well? (45% complete)
Where does the library system share information on library bylaws (or charters or authorizing legislation)? (40% complete)
Where does the library system share details related to applications/ elections for board seats? (30% complete)
All told, we attempted to find just under 74,000 data points related to public library governance, and we ended up finding just over 45,000, or 61% of the total we were looking for.
Of the 9,248 libraries in the latest Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Public Library Survey (PLS) , we have now identified the board selection method for just over 8,000. That’s 1000 more than we knew at the end of Phase 01 of our data collection project. The findings from Phase 01 remained highly stable. Our data, now comprising 87% of public libraries in the US, shows that the vast majority (80%) of public library board seats are filled by appointment. Only 18% of public library boards (1,447 in all) are selected by public election, and 2% are a mix of appointments and public elections.
Only 12 states have 10% or higher elected library boards. 9 states have more than zero percent, but less than 10% elected library boards. Only 13 states have 10 or more total elected library boards. See the percent and total number of elected library boards we identified in each of those states below.
The state a library system is located in and the legal basis (type of local government structure the library operates within, such as a municipality, a county, a library district, etc.) has a relationship to where elected library board seats are most commonly found. Nationally speaking, all types of public library systems (by their legal basis) are more likely to have appointed than elected boards. Below is a breakdown of public library systems with elected boards by legal basis.
When broken into categories by state and legal basis, fewer than 10 total categories of libraries across the country are more likely to have elected than appointed boards.
100% - Texas (15 of 15 library-district-based systems)
94% - Illinois (318 of 337 total library-district-based systems)
93% - New York (181 of 194 total library-district-based systems)
79% - Michigan (11 of 14 of total school-district based systems)
78% - New Hampshire (166 of 212 total municipality-based systems)
73% - Oregon (19 of 26 total library-district-based systems)
69% - Vermont (70 of 101 total municipality-based systems)
55% - California (6 of 11 total library-district-based systems)
55% - Massachusetts (189 of 343 total municipality-based systems)
The chart below shows U.S. public library systems arranged into groups based on the size of the population they serve. Within each grouping, you can see the percentage of the total systems classified under each board selection method.
If we want to focus on an election-based strategy for getting leftists seated on their public library boards, some good starting points would be:
Library-district-based systems in Illinois, New York, and Oregon (and maybe Texas although those may be more challenging races generally).
Municipality-based systems in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts
School-district-based systems in Michigan.
The biggest takeaway from this work is the pervasiveness of appointments as the selection method for public library boards. Any national strategy needs to focus on how to win appointed seats, which is not as well-trodden a path as an electoral strategy.
We were only able to get as far as we did because we had the scaffolding of the IMLS PLS from which to build. When we began this data collection effort, we imagined completing one round of collection and then pushing for IMLS to adopt our survey questions in their annual Public Library Survey (PLS) efforts. This no longer feels like a viable path forward because of Trump and Musk’s targeting of the agency, including illegally forcingall 70 IMLS staff on to administrative leave. That said, the IMLS PLS always started at the state-level, with State Library Administrative Agencies (SLAA) handling local data collection independently of IMLS, so we remain hopeful to find an institutional home to take up the research we’ve piloted here and incorporate it into existing longitudinal library research efforts.
Keep an eye on our newsletter for the launch of the FTP Library Board Database. If you’re a leftist seeking a place at the table of your local public library board, this tool will help fetch you a seat (or at least a bit more information on your local library board).
Favorite Library Quotes
FTP asked folks to send in their favorite library quotes…and you did! We will feature them throughout the year.
"A library is a focal point, a sacred place to a community; and its sacredness is its accessibility, its publicness. It’s everybody’s place."
– Ursula K. Le Guin, in a 1997 speech celebrating the renovation of Portland’s Multnomah County Library
Updates from Library Land
Here’s a roundup of interesting reading and listening material that we think you’ll appreciate. Sometimes articles may be paywalled. In other news, sometimes it’s nice to use tools like Archive.today or the Wayback Machine.
Library and museum support agency faces massive cuts after Trump order by Jeffrey Brown, Anne Azzi Davenport, Murrey Jacobson, Lena I. Jackson, and Accalia Rositani for PBS
State of America's Libraries: A Snapshot of 2024 | A report from the American Library Association
Small and rural libraries are feeling the cuts from President Trump's executive order : NPR by Andrew Limbong
Mississippi orders deletion of race and gender databases in state libraries by Adria R Walker for The Guardian
NYC Library Workers Say Cuomo’s Campaign Asked If They’ve Considered Charging for Services by Max Rivlin-Nadler, Nick Pinto for Hell Gate
Editorial: Leave libraries alone. They more than pay their way. by Chicago Tribune
House Passes “Freedom to Read Act” | Colorado House Democrats
Idaho Commission for Libraries prepares for potential loss of federal funds by Emma Epperly for Idaho Ed News
House passes bill to restrict children's access to certain books with 'sexually explicit' materials by Dave Thompson for Prairie Public Broadcasting
North Dakota Governor Vetoes Bill Restricting Library Books - The New York Times by Mitch Smith
The assault on libraries must end by David Leonard for The Boston Globe
Being a librarian was already hard. Then came the Trump administration | by Rainesford Stauffer for The Guardian
Philly will study its aging libraries and rec centers following HVAC-related closures by Anna Orso for The Philadelphia Inquirer
In Minneapolis-St. Paul area libraries, a pivot away from security gates by Mike Kaszuba for Public Record Media
Naval Academy book removals sparks effort to make them available again - The Washington Post by Dana Munro
Vanishing Culture: Preserving the Library System | Internet Archive Blogs
🔊Libraries Today | Maine Public A show from Maine Public Radio about the importance of our public libraries with stories about people changing their lives with the support and resources offered by these vital institutions.
Ohio libraries push state lawmakers to reject cuts in budget bill by Laura A. Bischoff for The Columbus Dispatch
Ten Unexpected Things to Check Out at Public Libraries by Juhie Bhatia for The Mellon Foundation
San Diego Public Library system could be closing on Sundays and Mondays by Jane Kim for ABC 10
The Dos and Don’ts of Supporting Your Local Library | Literary Hub by By Kristen Arnett
🎥 Free for All: The Public Library - Independent Lens Directed by Dawn Logsdon and Lucie Faulknor
“No Tariffs on Sharing”: Tool Libraries Offer Resilience Amid Federal Chaos By
Ella Fassler for Truthout
Report: “Legislature Moves West Virginia Libraries Under Tourism Department” by Gary Price for Library Journal
STATEMENT: Federal Funding for Libraries Makes it Case in Court
The Latest From IMLS and What You Need to Prepare For Right Now by Kelly Jensen for Well Sourced
The Trump Administration Is Not Just Erasing History, They're Rewriting the Future and Attacking Democracy | Opinion by John Chrastka, Marilyn Jackson, and Celina Stewart for Newsweek
Collective Memory Is a Political Project by Mia Henry for Lifted with Mia Henry
30 Women and 1 Man: A Brief History of the Library School at NYPL
Federal cuts threaten program that allows suburban libraries to share books by Molly Morrow, Aurora Beacon, and Tess Kenny for Chicago Tribune
Take Action
NYC Public Library Action Network Letter to Mayoral Candidates (for New Yorkers)
Send An Email: Oppose SB2101 - Texas Freedom to Read Project Send an email to the Texas Senate Committee on State Affairs asking them to oppose Texas Senate Bill 2101, which applies to public municipal libraries across the state.
Losers Attack Our Libraries Postcards by Marc Fischer to distribute.
Give to The Rolling Library General Fund. The Rolling Library provides free books and literacy events to NYC. Every Monday night (6-8pm), you can browse their free bookshelves at Astoria Food Pantry to take home any books—to borrow or to keep forever. Funding goes toward purchasing new books to diversify their collection (particularly queer authors & authors of color), hosting free book fairs (gas money, event supplies), and helping pay rent on the space.
Find your Attorney General and ask them to join IMLS lawsuit.
Upcoming Events of Interest
May 3 | NYC Black Zine Fair. 11am - 6pm @ Powerhouse Arts. RSVP here.
May 6 (Virtual) Washington State Libraries First Tuesdays Training - Facing Change: What the Loss of Federal Funding Means for Washington Libraries Online. Register here.
May 17 NYC Public Library People’s Assembly. 1.30 - 5.30pm. Register here.
May 17 | Chicago 10 am, Outdoor picnic to celebrate the release of Prisons Must Fall written by Mariame Kaba and Jane Ball. RSVP here.
May 19 (Virtual) Library Freedom Project (LFP) Book Club: Everything for Everyone: An Oral History of the New York Commune, 2052–2072 by M.E. O'Brien and Eman Abdelhadi. Register here.
May 21 (Virtual) Leveraging the Decentralized Web to Preserve Cultural Heritage by Jefferson Sankara hosted by Digital Public Library of America.
May 22 | Chicago Why Make Zines in 2025: Information Control Under Fascism with Mariame Kaba, Marc Fischer, K Reynolds and Lewis Wallace @ Walls Turned Sideways 6.30 - 8.30 pm RSVP here.
May 28 | Columbia, SC 6-7.30 pm Read to Resist Book Club, We Do This ‘Til We Free Us organized by Palmetto State Abortion Fund