State librarian presents FY2027 library budget, flags federal grant uncertainty

BURLINGTON — State Librarian Catherine Belnau told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Jan. 29 that the Department of Libraries’ FY2027 budget is primarily funded by a combination of general and federal dollars and cautioned that the department depends on federal grants whose timing is unsettled.

"My name is Catherine Belnau. I'm a state librarian," Belnau said when she opened the department's presentation. She said the governor's recommended appropriation would make roughly 63% of the department's budget come from the general fund and that the department is "hopeful that it will receive roughly $1,240,000" from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grants-to-states program.

The department, Belnau said, has 18 permanent staff and two limited-service staff who are focused on capital grant programs supported by one-time federal funding. She outlined the department's responsibilities, including maintaining the State Library collections, administering an ABLE Library for Vermonters with visual and print disabilities, and providing an annual grant to Vermont Law and Graduate School to support a public law library and community legal information services.

Belnau described steps the department has taken to make the budget materials clearer for legislators, including a color-coded table on page 8 of the budget book that groups activities by statutory requirement. "The 'shall' items are all in green," she said, noting the coding shows which services are statutory duties and which are historically supported but not mandated by statute.

Committee members questioned procurement and subscription arrangements. A senator asked why LexisNexis and Westlaw services appear to be contracted separately; Belnau said the two products offer different features and that LexisNexis provides proprietary annotated statutory material that may not be available from Westlaw. She also said interdepartmental transfers typically cover Westlaw subscription costs and that those charges are borne by the user departments rather than general or federal funds.

On capital projects, Belnau pointed to the ARPA Capital Projects Fund report on page 14 and said the department administers 14 ARPA-funded grants to public libraries intended to expand high-speed internet access for telehealth, workforce development and related services. She said projects are scheduled to complete by the end of the calendar year and identified two completed projects, in Brandon and the Juniper (Hardwick) Library, and described the Johnson Public Library's move out of a flood plain as an example of a funded project.

Belnau addressed recent federal uncertainty affecting IMLS funding, saying the agency has experienced staff reductions and that a legal challenge affecting IMLS has been won by Vermont and other states but is on appeal. "We draw more frequently, but we continue to operate," she said, adding the department has trued up federal estimates so its budget reflects expected award amounts.

Asked how the department would respond if IMLS funding were not available, Belnau said staff have identified which activities would be reduced and asked rhetorically, "Where would you like us to change statute?" — underscoring the department's limited discretion to continue certain services without statutory change or additional funding.

The presentation closed without a committee vote; members thanked Belnau and her staff and the department offered to follow up with additional details if requested.