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FY26 budget would add about 75 library positions and boost collections, board told
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Summary
Library officials told trustees the DC Council's initial FY26 budget vote would restore or add roughly 75 positions, increase collections spending and provide $2 million for general improvements; trustees noted hiring remains constrained by a mayoral waiver process.
Library leadership told the Board of Trustees that an initial DC Council vote on the FY26 budget would restore and add staff and increase the collections budget.
Rich, the library’s executive director, said it now “seems very likely that we will gain up to 50 staff members next year” and that the system would also fill 25 positions that had been proposed for elimination, for a total increase of roughly 75 staff. He summarized that as a roughly $6.5 million increase to personnel costs to maintain service hours and branch-level programming.
Rich also said the collections budget would rise from a baseline of $4.7 million to $5.5 million for FY26, including $300,000 appropriated for the new Southeast Library. He cautioned that some increases were one-time and that FY27 planning would begin soon. The board was told there is $2 million for capital general improvements to address long-standing HVAC, elevator and door repairs.
Finance staff reported that approximately $4–4.45 million in non-lapsing account balances (collections, Books from Birth, revenue-generating accounts) had been swept into the city’s supplemental budget; speakers used slightly different figures in discussion. The mayor’s hiring/order requiring waivers for hiring and certain expenditures remains in effect; finance staff said only a small number of positions currently have waivers and hiring remains constrained.
Why it matters: the staffing and collections increases would expand branch service and programming, and the capital improvements funding was cited by union leaders and staff as necessary to fix persistent safety and accessibility problems.
Next steps: the DC Council scheduled a second budget vote at the end of July; library staff said implementation details and hiring timelines will depend on city waivers and final council action.
