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Department of Education seeks funds for competitive library construction grants; governor recommends $900,000
Summary
The Department of Education presented the library construction competitive grant program to the committee, describing program history, 2023–24 activity and a governor recommendation of $900,000 for 2025; program requires 50% local match and awards improvement and accessibility grants.
The Minnesota Department of Education told the Senate Capital Investment Committee on Feb. 18 that the governor’s 2025 recommendation includes $900,000 for the competitive library construction grant program, which supports improvement and accessibility projects at public libraries statewide.
Bobbie Burnham, assistant commissioner in the Office of Teaching and Learning, said Minnesota has 12 regional public library systems, 359 public library locations and at least one public library in every county. Department figures include 15,400,000 library visits in 2023, roughly 56,000,000 items borrowed and more than 135,000 community meetings and public events. Burnham said libraries are reporting higher demand for in‑person borrowing, community meeting space and upgraded HVAC and telehealth‑ready meeting rooms.
The program offers two project types: improvement grants (maximum award $1,000,000) and accessibility grants (maximum award $450,000). Both require a 50% local match and applications are reviewed through a competitive peer review process. The department said the program, funded intermittently since 1994, has made 170 awards in its lifetime; average award size is just over $100,000. The last major appropriations were $2.95 million in October 2020 and $4,000,000 in May 2023; awards from FY24 totaled $4,000,000 and supported 10 projects.
Burnham told the committee an estimated statewide need for library construction and repair exceeds $187,000,000 and that 45 libraries have recently identified needs for repairs, expansion, or new construction. Committee members indicated support for higher funding levels than the governor’s recommended $900,000.
