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Library director presents FY2026 budget; council questions proposed cut to book-festival funding
Summary
San Antonio Public Library presented a FY2026 proposal that emphasizes collections, technology and outreach while showing a reduced city allocation to the city’s book festival; councilmembers urged the city to explore supplemental funding sources for the festival and requested performance and attendance data.
The San Antonio Public Library presented its FY2026 budget proposal to the council, highlighting investments in collections, technology and outreach while noting proposed reductions to some lines, including a decrease in city support for the annual book festival.
The library’s presenter (introduced as the director of the San Antonio Public Library) said the FY2026 proposal would include approximately $55.4 million from the general fund and about $1.4 million in grants, for a total approaching $58 million in the presentation. The director said the library plans to invest about $7.3 million in books and related materials and allocate funding for technology upgrades, collections and programming across the system’s branch network.
The presentation emphasized service metrics the library uses to measure impact: the system operates 30 locations (including the central library and 28 branch sites), supports a growing collection and runs thousands of programs annually. The presenter said the system plans targeted capital maintenance (roof and HVAC work) and smaller facility upgrades and offered a staffing total presented as roughly 554 positions across the system.
Several councilmembers questioned a proposed reduction in the city’s allocation to the citywide book festival. The presenter described the festival as historically supported by different city allocations (the presentation listed prior city contributions at $50,000, $100,000 and as high as $150,000 in previous years) and said the festival would continue as a one-day event under the proposed budget but with a smaller city contribution. Councilmembers including Castillo and others urged staff to identify creative supplemental funding — such as tourism-related revenue or private sponsorships — and asked the library for membership and attendance metrics to help assess the cut’s impact.
Councilmembers also praised the library’s investments in digital resources and outreach, asked for detail on how the library supports seniors and disabled patrons, and requested follow-up information and memos on festival attendance, program reach and the library foundation’s fundraising pipeline.
No final council vote on library budget items was recorded in the transcript. Staff agreed to provide detailed usage and attendance statistics and to return with memos on festival funding alternatives and capital maintenance timelines.
