Senate file 2485 would boost funding for eLibrary Minnesota; committee hears student, librarian support

Senator Kunish opened the Minnesota Senate Education Finance Committee hearing on Senate File 24-85 on March 26, 2025, saying the bill would support eLibrary Minnesota (ELM), a statewide subscription service that provides vetted, ad-free research databases to K-12 schools, higher-education institutions and public libraries.

ELM supporters told the committee the resource is widely used in classrooms and by the public. Sarah Swanson, media specialist at Edina High School, said, "Edina High School students use eLibrary Minnesota resources daily... Academic Search Premier is a database used by students in advanced placement biology and AP Lit and Lang classes. So far this year, EHS students have performed nearly 11,000 searches in this database." Student witness Vivian Cassie, a student at ECU High School, said using ELM databases made it easier to find reliable sources: "ELibrary Minnesota was easy to use, and I found sources for my project right away. I didn't have to worry about if they were accurate or not." Will Richter, director of library services at the Grand Rapids Area Library, told the committee the service is "especially vital in communities across Northeastern Minnesota" where local budgets cannot support individual subscriptions.

Committee members asked about procurement and vendor selection. Maggie Snow, director of Minitex (the consortium that negotiates and manages vendor contracts for these statewide subscriptions), told senators Minitex currently manages about 55 databases and conducts a competitive review process and RFPs to select products. On funding levels, committee staff said the February forecast showed $900,000 per year in the base for ELM; the bill would increase funding by $2,000,000 per year (to approximately $2,900,000 per year) to both cover rising licensing costs and expand available modules and language options.

Supporters framed the bill as an equity measure: witnesses emphasized that ELM centralizes purchasing power so small districts, rural schools and public libraries can provide the same vetted materials students in wealthier districts access. Committee discussion noted vendor-agnostic statutory language in the bill but the presence of several letters referencing Minitex and current vendors; Minitex staff described multilingual modules and K-12-targeted expansions they would prioritize with additional funds.

No formal vote was taken. Senator Kunish moved Senate File 24-85 before the committee; the committee laid the bill over for possible inclusion in an omnibus bill.