State Library requests equity pay adjustments and an interlibrary‑loan bridge to expand statewide access

BISMARCK — Mary Susi, North Dakota State Librarian, told the House Appropriations Education and Environment Division that the State Library’s primary role is to support 545 libraries across North Dakota, provide interlibrary loan and digitization services, and serve state agencies and residents with reference and specialized collections.

Susi said the library’s core collection includes about 288,700 physical items plus state documents and a statewide e‑book consortium that gives participating patrons access to roughly 900,000 e‑books, e‑audiobooks and e‑magazines through the Libby platform. The agency also operates 10 book‑vending machines in unserved locations across the state and maintains a state documents depository that includes many items dating back to territorial days.

Why it matters: the State Library distributes state aid and grant funding to local public libraries, runs digitization programs that preserve local and tribal history, and hosts the statewide e‑book consortium and interlibrary‑loan services used by residents…