Idaho libraries push to keep federal digital-access programs funded as grants wind down

The Idaho Commission for Libraries told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on July 1 that it has begun implementing a multi-year federal digital-access program and is seeking state budget authority to continue work while additional federal notices of award are expected.

Brooke Dupree, budget and policy analyst with the legislative services office, told the committee the commission is requesting $2,500,000 ongoing in its base for the “Digital Access for All Idahoans” program, and a separate $42,400 ongoing for a broadband reimbursement under the Education Opportunity Resource Act (Idaho Code, title 33, chapter 56). Dupree said the digital-access funding originates with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and is being administered through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

The request is rooted in a federal allocation that Idaho may spend through Feb. 2032, Deputy State Librarian Stephanie Bailey White said. “We were the third state in the nation to receive our allocation of funds,” Bailey White told the panel, and the commission has launched a subgrant round with 39 applicants in the first notice of funding opportunity.

Why this matters: The program is designed to address barriers to online access — affordability, digital skills, device access and cybersecurity awareness — and 80% of the…