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 and library staff across the state.

Budget and staffing: Susi told the committee the agency is smaller than many expect — 26.75 FTE — and that salary turnover has been a persistent issue. The State Library’s 2023–25 appropriation was $9,294,141 (about $6.82 million general fund). The legislative base for 2025–27, aligned with OMB, is $9,181,557 with a general‑fund base of $6,682,484. Susi said vacancy savings and turnover have constrained the agency and that one optional request is targeted equity funding for nine positions (classified at the 102 level) where pay is far below market.

Grants and programs: the state library distributes two main pass‑through grant programs — state aid to public libraries and library vision grants. For the current biennium Susi said $868,791 was awarded in state aid to public libraries and $237,248 in library vision grants (38 projects), with additional tribal library grants recently extended beyond tribal academic institutions to all tribal libraries. The agency also reported expanding digitization work and hosting virtual and in‑person continuing education for library staff; it said the virtual training model was adopted early and has been shared with other state agencies.

Optional requests and proposed projects: the State Library asked legislators to consider three optional packages: an equity compensation package (to raise low paid positions closer to market), an interlibrary‑loan (ILL) bridge to connect 350+ libraries’ collections statewide, and modest operating adjustments. The ILL bridge was estimated at $702,000 total, of which the library requested $450,000 from the general fund and expected the remainder from federal funds; the ILL bridge would pay for implementation, software licensing and one additional FTE for ODIN/NDUS to manage the connection. Susi said the ILL bridge could be configured to support broader conveniences such as a single statewide card but that a uniform card was not part of the initial request and would need technical study.

Operational notes and facilities: Susi reported the agency experienced a water‑main break that flooded basement areas in the Liberty Memorial building; facilities management replaced the original pipe and mitigations are underway. She also said NDSL’s IT procurement review process has created delays when renewing software and asked for clearer guidance on review contents so small agencies can avoid repeat extensions with vendors.

Access and equity: Susi told lawmakers the agency is focused on reaching unserved populations, including expanding tribal library grants and continuing the statewide e‑book consortium. She noted that fees the library collects are limited and that many public library patrons rely on donated funds and local support for small charges such as printing or duplicate certificates.

Ending: Susi said the State Library will deliver follow‑up documentation to the committee, including position‑level salary information and cost details for optional requests. She closed by thanking lawmakers for their support and said the agency stands ready to answer additional questions as the budget process continues.