St. Paul library board adopts spending amendment as staff warns proposed cuts would shrink collections and raise wait times

The St. Paul Public Library Board voted unanimously to amend the library agency’s 2025 financing and spending plans to allow the city to encumber additional Friends funds, and library staff warned that a proposed reduction in the collections budget would shrink purchasing power and raise wait times for materials.

Director Hartman told the board, “The Friends of the St. Paul Public Library have additional funds to transfer to the library before the end of the year in support of transforming libraries and youth and family services programs. This resolution increases our special funds of spending authority to allow us to encumber and spend those funds.”

Library staff said the city’s proposed budget includes a $65,079 reduction to the materials budget — about 6.3% — and that the Friends have agreed to lead a special fundraising effort to raise $40,000 to offset the cut, which staff estimated would reduce the effective cut to about 2.4%.

Josh Schafer, identified in the meeting as a library staff presenter, gave an overview of the collections budget and funding sources. He said levy revenue for collections is about $857,000, the library applies annually for a competitive Cultural STAR grant of $175,000, and special-fund and general-fund sources together bring collections to roughly $1.67 million in total funds, with city support totaling about $1.4 million.

Materials management supervisor Jessica Zillhart described how recent investments were used and the continuing challenges in digital materials. She said the library preserved prior-year spending on digital content, expanded children’s materials and planned systemwide “read-along” picture books with built-in audio by year’s end. "We've continued our investment in purchasing replacements for high use items and outdated content," she said, adding those routine maintenance activities become harder during budget constraints.

Zillhart summarized recent pilots and community work, saying the Rice Street and Rondo community-informed collections pilot added about 1,200 items based on community feedback, including an Arabic-language collection and a refreshed Spanish-language children’s collection at Rice Street. She said that pilot also opened channels for ongoing engagement between staff and community members.

On digital trends, Zillhart said the share of circulation from digital materials rose sharply in 2020 and has stabilized: "Our year to date this year is exactly that same breakdown" (roughly a 60/40 split in favor of physical materials). She explained the library purchases digital content through third-party licensing, primarily OverDrive (the Libby app), and that publisher pricing for library licenses is substantially higher than consumer prices. Zillhart gave an example: libraries may pay roughly $60 for an ebook or $59.99 for an eaudiobook versus lower consumer prices, and publishers’ license terms can expire after a set time or number of checkouts.

She warned that a reduced collections budget would likely increase wait times across formats and reduce the number of new titles, mid-list or debut authors, and special projects the library can support. "If we are to have a budget reduction, we will see wait times for all materials increase," she said. Staff also noted that eaudiobook content has become a significant portion of digital circulation and that fewer new titles on physical media (like CDs) make digital delivery more important for accessibility and reach.

Board members asked several programmatic and operational questions: tracking circulation trends by branch, whether community-informed collection work could be used in rebuilding the Hamline Midway Library collection ahead of its 2026 reopening, how Library Go (the partnership that issues school-linked library cards through Saint Paul Public Schools) affects digital circulation, and how the regional consortium MELSA coordinates consortial purchasing strategies.

Council President Naker and Council Vice President Kim led the motions: Naker moved approval of the minutes from the board’s Sept. 10 meeting, and Vice President Kim moved approval of the resolution to increase special-fund spending authority so the Friends’ contributions could be encumbered. Both motions passed on unanimous voice or roll-call tallies recorded as 5 in favor, 0 opposed.

Votes at a glance: - Motion to approve Sept. 10, 2025 library board minutes. Mover: Council President Naker. Outcome: Adopted; tally recorded as 5 yes, 0 no. - Resolution (public hearing) amending the 2025 financing and spending plans in the library agency special projects (to allow Friends funds to be encumbered). Mover: Council Vice President Kim. Outcome: Adopted; tally recorded as 5 yes, 0 no.

Board members and staff concluded by thanking the Friends of the St. Paul Public Library for the pledged support and by stressing that sustained investment in collections is key to keeping the library’s offerings timely and accessible. With no further business, the board adjourned.