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State Library seeks targeted salary increases, carryover for renovations and funding for interlibrary loan bridge
Summary
Committee considered the State Library’s long sheet: a request for targeted salary increases (an $80,000 baseline request the committee asked be revisited to $128,000 in one scenario), authority to carry over renovation funds, and a $450,000 interlibrary loan bridge with a federal contribution noted.
The Appropriations - Education and Environment Division reviewed the State Library’s long sheet, which includes targeted salary increases, operating and IT cost changes, and a one‑time interlibrary loan bridge to connect more than 350 libraries across North Dakota.
Committee members described the salary request as a targeted equity adjustment. Sheila (department representative) and committee members discussed an $80,000 request to raise entry or low‑tier salaries; Representative Hansen said during the hearing, “I would strongly support the $80,000 to boost salaries,” noting some library staff were earning about $16 an hour. Members suggested a larger increase could be considered to narrow the gap with local libraries; committee staff ran a scenario that would raise the long‑sheet request from $80,000 to about $128,000 to get closer to private‑sector comparators.
The State Library also asked for carryover authority for building renovations: the department reported it had appropriated $150,000 in the prior session but spent only $3,000 and asked to carry unspent funds forward. Committee counsel said staff could draft the necessary carryover language.
On technology and resource sharing, the department outlined a $450,000 state request to fund an interlibrary loan bridge that would connect more than 350 North Dakota libraries and help them reduce subscription costs; the department indicated that a federal contribution (about $252,000) already exists or is in place for the project and that the $450,000 is the state component. Staff clarified the department already had the federal authority in place and the federal amount did not require additional state authority to spend.
Committee members also asked for more detail on IT rate changes. The library’s increase was coded primarily to IT data processing lines; committee staff noted some of the variation in IT amounts results from re‑coding and netting across several operating sub‑lines. The committee directed staff to confirm percentages and historical baselines for IT charges so members could better evaluate the increase relative to the agency’s overall budget.
Why it matters: targeted salary increases are intended to improve the department’s ability to recruit and retain trained staff who run interlibrary services and statewide programs; the interlibrary loan bridge expands library resource sharing and could lower subscription costs across the state.
Ending: Committee members requested carryover language for the renovation funds, asked staff to model a higher salary option (the $128,000 scenario), and said they would revisit IT rate percentage details when the long sheet is finalized.
