Upper Valley librarians are concerned that the proposed elimination of the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services and the financial support it provides will limit patrons’ access to ebooks, audiobooks, interlibrary loan and other services that the agency helps support.

Funding is secured through the summer, but when the most recent spending plan approved by Congress expires in September, further allocations are in doubt.

“They’re providing us these resources that we’d then have to figure out how to do on our own,” Windsor Public Library Director Barbara Ball said. “I don’t know if we could do it.”

In 2024, New Hampshire received around $1.5 million in federal funding and Vermont received around $1.2 million, according to data from the Grants to States program, which is administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

President Donald Trump signed Executive Order “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy,” on March 14, the purpose of which “continues the reduction in the elements of the Federal bureaucracy that the President has determined are unnecessary.”

Seven agencies including Institute of Museum and Library Services were named in the order. On that same day, Congress approved a continuing resolution — which included funding for the institute — that is set to expire at the end of September.

The executive order combined with the funding extension has led to confusion about the status of grants and federal funding that is sent to states and then distributed to local institutions.

“It is very likely that this will impact us in some way, it’s just unclear to what extent and on what timeline,” said Michaela Lavelle, library director of the Quechee and Wilder libraries.

Upper Valley libraries are primarily funded by municipalities. Many also have friends groups that raise donations, and librarians often apply for grants.

While the federal funding tends to be a small piece of library budgets, it helps provide services to patrons that would be difficult for libraries to provide on their own: In both states, the funding helps reduce libraries’ costs for services including ebooks, audiobooks, interlibrary loan services and databases.

For patrons, these services are free.

“I think that’s one of the fundamental functions we offer as public libraries, is accessibility to items that not everyone has the means to purchase all the time,” said Rubi Simon, director of the Howe Public Library in Hanover. “Some of us will be impacted more than others, based on our size and socioeconomics.”

Since the executive order was issued, patrons have been reaching out with concerns about access to services. While librarians are taking a wait and see approach, they have also been discussing what they could do — from additional fundraisers to adjusting budgets — if the cuts come to fruition.

In Vermont, federal dollars support programs including Palace Project — an app that provides access to ebooks and audiobooks — and other databases that provide access to scholarly articles. (Libraries can also choose to pay to join the Green Mountain Library Consortium, where patrons of member libraries can use Libby to access ebooks and audiobooks. That program does not involve federal funds.)

In New Hampshire, librarians are particularly concerned about access to ebooks and audiobooks through the New Hampshire Downloadable Books Consortium. Patrons can borrow ebooks, audiobooks and magazines through apps, including Libby. Libraries pay fees based the number of library card holders who use the system and how many items they borrow. The system also allows libraries to pool resources and spread out the cost of materials.

Upper Valley librarians said the number of patrons who borrow ebooks and audiobooks — which surged during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic — has stayed elevated. In 2024, Howe library card holders borrowed around 4,000 items per month via Libby.

“We thought those numbers would go down once we opened up and got back on track after COVID. Those numbers have not gone down,” Simon said. “It’s such a big part of the services we offer and what people want.”

New Hampshire libraries are also facing state cuts: While Rep. Joe Sweeney, R-Salem, backed off a proposal to close the New Hampshire State Library, legislators are asking for $300,000 in cuts from the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, which the state library is part of, according to New Hampshire Public Radio.

Jim Allen, Plainfield Public Libraries director, is concerned about access to the database Ancestry, for which he said the two-library system pays $150 per year through the New Hampshire State Library. There is a growing genealogy group that finds the database helpful. Allen is also in the process of borrowing 3D printers from the state library after patrons asked to use one.

“The state library really helps us to be able to afford things a lot of libraries wouldn’t be able to afford,” Allen said.

Librarians in both states have concerns about federal funding for interlibrary loan services, essentially a courier in each state that brings books and other library materials to patrons in other towns.

While mailing materials through the postal service would be an option, it is not as effective or efficient as the courier service.

Windsor receives $700 a year through the state to put toward interlibrary loan services.

“Interlibrary loan would be harder to do,” Ball, in Windsor, said. “We’d have to figure out where (in the budget) to take it from. People really rely on that here.”

In 2024, patrons at Plainfield’s two libraries borrowed 700 items through New Hampshire’s interlibrary loan service and the town’s library lent out around 1,600, “which is pretty good for a little tiny library in a small town,” Allen said. The yearly combined budget for the Philip Read Memorial Library in Plainfield Village and the Meriden Library in Meriden Village is around $200,000.

“It really is going to be difficult if the interlibrary loan program goes away, particularly for little libraries that don’t have large budgets,” Allen said.

In Vermont, federal funding also supports summer reading programs for children throughout the state.

Last summer, the Quechee and Wilder libraries used $300 to put up three StoryWalks in Hartford — pages of a book that are posted throughout outdoor areas, allowing families to read a book as they walk — Lavelle, the libraries’ director, said. They also used some of the money for a family karaoke program. This summer they are set to receive around $350.

“That allows us to innovate and pay our performers and put on some really cool programs for the summer,” Lavelle said.

Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.