Statement on Proposed Elimination of the South Dakota State Library and HB 1041 Enacting Legislation
EveryLibrary—the national political action committee for libraries—strongly opposes the proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget cuts to the South Dakota State Library, as well as HB 1041, the enacting legislation that would allow South Dakota to refuse federal IMLS funding and effectively eliminate the State Library’s critical functions and responsibilities.
CLICK TO SHARE!
Facebook, Bluesky, Twitter, Linkedin
While devastating for South Dakota, this move also sets an extremely troubling precedent for libraries nationwide. By essentially closing the State Library and rejecting federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) funding, South Dakota will harm libraries across the state and could provide a model for other states that may be motivated to similarly dismantle their own state library agencies.
Forfeiting federal resources threatens core library services and could ripple across the nation.
Under the Governor’s proposal, 12.5 State Library staff positions will be terminated, leaving only the Braille and Talking Book Library minimally intact. This drastic reduction of personnel would severely limit the State Library’s capacity to support K–12 schools, public libraries, and academic libraries statewide. While the proposed $1.3 million in state budget cuts would automatically trigger an additional loss of $1.39 million in federal grants from IMLS, HB 1041 would compel the state to reject federal IMLS funds outright. This is an unprecedented and ill-advised step that leaves millions of dollars on the table, money that directly supports library services, technology, and resources for all South Dakotans.
Help stop this before it spreads to your state!
We made it easy to email your state legislators to show Americans love their libraries!
HB 1041 would repeal the State Library’s statutory responsibilities, including research support for state employees and legislators, training for library staff, collection of library statistics, archiving government documents, and oversight by the State Library Board. The erosion of these essential services would undermine local libraries’ ability to serve their communities effectively.
The State Library’s consortium purchasing power through Minitex—vital for databases like Ancestry, World Book, and the popular Libby e-book platform—would disappear. As a result, local libraries, particularly in rural areas, would face skyrocketing costs if they attempt to maintain critical online resources on their own. This loss disproportionately impacts students, job-seekers, and families who rely on these services for homework support, research, and lifelong learning.
The proposed cuts would jeopardize interlibrary loan and courier systems, crippling resource-sharing across the state and isolating libraries from each other. This is especially damaging to smaller libraries that cannot individually provide every book or learning material their patrons need. South Dakota is a large state, and cuts like this would supercharge existing inequalities.
A monthly donation of just $3 will help us sustain this fight!
Learn more about how we put your donations to work and make a one-time donation here.
"These proposed budget cuts are not occurring in isolation," says John Chrastka, Executive Director of EveryLibrary. "Libraries across the country are experiencing coordinated efforts that undermine their missions—often under the guise of protecting children or improving education. Instead of strengthening public institutions that provide quality information, the proposals in South Dakota would funnel resources away from a public library ecosystem and toward politically motivated initiatives. EveryLibrary stands against playing politics with libraries."
We have reached out to the South Dakota Library Association in the hope that we can offer assistance and support for their approach to this fight. It is important to prevail in South Dakota, but this is also a matter of national concern for the rest of the ecosystem. We encourage library organizations across the country to recognize the national implications of this fight. If allowed to happen in South Dakota, other states could follow suit, jeopardizing federal funding nationwide and dismantling the cornerstone of library support at the state level.
Abandoning state library services and rejecting federal funding will be a net loss for South Dakota taxpayers. Local communities will be forced to shoulder higher expenses for fewer services while forfeiting federal dollars that have long been leveraged for the public good. We urge South Dakota lawmakers to reject HB 1041 and restore full funding to the State Library. Protecting the State Library is a fiscally responsible measure that ensures efficient, collaborative library services throughout the state—and prevents a dangerous precedent for defunding libraries elsewhere.
We know this agenda will come to many more states if they’re successful in South Dakota. Take action today!
Send your legislators an email to ask them to support libraries today!