Public libraries are a vital part of most Utah communities, but many of the state's rural libraries are in limbo as they wait to see if Congress will fund a new federal budget by the end of this month.
Lawmakers must pass a full appropriation bill or face another government shutdown similar to the one in October.
Utah's libraries received about $2.3 million in federal funds last year, but it's uncertain whether library money will be in the new budget. If it isn't, said Kate Laughlin, executive director of the Association for Rural and Small Libraries, rural communities would be hit hardest.
"It's mostly impacting the small and rural libraries," Laughlin said. "Any of the larger library systems were not the ones who were most heavily impacted; it's our sister libraries around the state that are small and rural."
Of the 60 library systems in Utah, about half are in rural communities.
President Donald Trump cut funding to libraries from the Institute of Museum and Library Services last year, although a court ruling later restored most of the 2025 grants. Groups that advocate for libraries have said if Congress doesn't restore the agency's funding, there will be little or no money for them in 2026.
The president's executive order essentially dismantled the institute, which significantly affected rural libraries that rely heavily on federal support for their programs and services. Laughlin said the court ruling only restored last year's funding — and left future outlays up to Congress.
"It's clear that the president still wants to do away with the IMLS [Institute of Museum and Library Services]; the courts just basically are getting in his way," she said. "They have not fixed the issue of the staffing. How they plan to do this grant cycle this year, I don't know."
In this digital age, said American Library Association president Sam Helmick, some people question the need for libraries, but she pointed out that they still provide vital services.
"What libraries are uniquely positioned to do is to add that curation and that context to content, so that you can come in and make it knowledge and breathe life into it and make it opportunity and wisdom," Helmick said. "There's really nowhere else on the planet that can do that."