Witnesses warn DC Public Library FY26 cuts could force reduced hours, slimmer collections

The Committee on Human Services heard testimony Tuesday, June 10, 2025, on the District of Columbia Public Library's proposed fiscal year 2026 budget and FY25 supplemental capital plan, where witnesses said operating cuts could force neighborhood branches to reduce hours, the system's collections to shrink and reopening plans for the Southeast branch to face staff and collection shortfalls.

Committee Chair Matt Fruman, Ward 3 council member and chair of the Committee on Human Services, opened the hearing noting the hearing's focus was the FY26 DC Public Library budget and that “libraries are critical third spaces that are uniquely available to every district resident.” He directed the committee to hear public witnesses then government testimony.

Why it matters: library leaders and frontline workers told the committee the operating budget proposed by the mayor would leave the system with fewer staff and materials just as multiple branches complete renovations and reopen. For many neighborhoods, witnesses said, the risk is fewer open hours or days when residents rely on libraries for internet access, job help, youth programming and social services connections.

Most immediate numbers and impacts

- Director Richard Reyes Gavilan, executive director of DC Public Library, described the mayor's FY26 operating proposal as a 2% decrease from FY25 and said the proposed personnel reduction of $2,000,000 would prevent the library from filling 24.5 vacant FTEs. He said that shortfall could force the system to cut two days of neighborhood service per week if the funding is not restored.

- The administration’s proposal would reduce the library collections budget by $1,000,000 (about a 20% cut to an already lean materials budget), eliminate $2,000,000 of nonlapsing carryover collections funding in the FY25 supplemental and sweep approximately $1,800,000 from the library's revenue-generating account, according to library testimony.

- Capital funding increases were also noted: the library staff thanked the mayor and council for increases including a $7,000,000 boost for the Congress Heights project and $1,300,000 in the FY25 supplemental for the Petworth refresh. Director Reyes Gavilan said those capital increases were “good news” even as operating funds tighten.

What witnesses said

Community witnesses and library staff repeatedly warned that staffing shortfalls and collection cuts would have immediate effects on service.

- David Sobelson, advisory neighborhood commissioner for ANC 6B03 and chair of ANC6B's Southeast Library Task Force, said the Southeast branch—closed for a renovation originally scheduled to finish in January 2026—may not reopen until mid-2026 and criticized DCPL for limiting hours at the Arthur Capper interim facility. "You can't just close our library and tell us to go downtown or just Northeast," Sobelson said, urging the committee to press DCPL on interim hours and how long the Arthur Capper interim site will remain open after renovations finish.

- Eric Jonathan Sheptock, a longtime homeless services advocate, urged continued in‑library social supports and proposed measures such as porta‑potties and stronger outreach during daytime and evening hours. He praised DCPL’s “We Care” work and the program’s role connecting unhoused patrons to services.

- AFSCME Local 1808 member David Gillette, a 13‑year library associate, and Yonah Bramberg Gaber, president of the union local representing many DCPL workers, described staffing shortages and burnout. Bramberg Gaber said, "This budget proposal does not enable the library to meet the increasing need," and warned that reductions to paid family and medical leave would worsen attrition.

- Library advocates and partners, including Robert Oliver, president of the Federation of Friends of the District of Columbia Public Library, Humanities DC leaders Rebecca Lemo Sotero and Jasper Collier, and others from neighborhood friends groups, stressed the public value of collections, oral‑history programs and local branch access. Oliver urged restoring the collections budget, calling collection reductions a cut “to the core of the library's primary mission.”

Director's accounting and library priorities

Director Reyes Gavilan told the committee the administration had provided some targeted enhancements—six additional public safety positions and continuation of two mental‑health specialist roles funded one‑time in FY25—but that the operating reduction and carryover sweeps would force difficult choices.

He said the Southeast Library reopening adds pressure because the renovated facility will be roughly twice the size of the prior branch and requires additional staff and an opening‑day collection. "If the $2,000,000 is not restored, we will eliminate 2 days of service per week in the new fiscal year," Reyes Gavilan said, and added the library requested roughly $1,200,000 in one‑time funds for Southeast's opening day collection, security and site needs (about $350,000 for collections plus contracts and maintenance).

Options discussed

Witnesses and the director outlined possible mitigations the committee could use if full restorations are not feasible:

- Restore the $2,000,000 in personnel funding to preserve seven‑day service at neighborhood branches (the library testified that $2,000,000 would likely allow the system to remain open seven days a week but with shorter daily hours).

- A larger staffing investment (the director estimated roughly $6,000,000 in recurring funds) would be needed to recreate the staffing model the library considers sustainable and to avoid shortages that lead to late openings and early closures.

- Restore or protect nonlapsed funds used for collections, the oral history collaborative, the Books from Birth program and MLK exhibition dollars to preserve programming and timely purchases of popular titles (witnesses and the director said sweeping carryover collections funds would materially reduce buying power and event programming).

Local capital and program specifics

Multiple neighborhood witnesses thanked the library for capital investments while urging operating protection. Testimony highlighted: Petworth (supplemental $1.3 million for refresh), Rosedale (community advocacy for full‑service replacement), Congress Heights ($7 million increase), Mount Pleasant and Kennedy Street/Brightwood Park (residents urged allocation or use of previously appropriated capital funds for a new facility). Several witnesses said DCPL has not spent council‑allocated capital acquisition funds for a Kennedy Street site and urged the committee to push for funding and action.

Process and administrative concerns

Director Reyes Gavilan and witnesses raised concerns about sections of the proposed Budget Support Act that would convert several nonlapsed library accounts into lapsing funds and direct annual transfers from library accounts to the general fund. The director warned that turning the collections account into a lapsing account would require stopping purchases mid‑year to ensure all materials were on hand by Sept. 30.

What the committee will do next

Chair Matt Fruman said he would press DCPL leadership on the timeline for the Southeast Library reopening and ask for clarification about how long the Arthur Capper interim facility will remain open. Fruman also called the reductions to the collections budget and potential loss of hours "top of our list" for further work by the committee.

The committee adjourned at 2:30 p.m.

Ending note: The hearing record contains detailed written testimony and follow‑up questions; councilmembers indicated they would explore partial restorations and shape amendments during the council's budget markup process.