May 8, 2025

Dear Johnson County Public Library patrons,

Some recent government changes may significantly affect your library services:

• Indiana state legislation (SEA1) puts many Indiana libraries in jeopardy of losing funding. At JCPL, we risk losing 40% of our funding. The Greenwood Public Library and Edinburgh Wright-Hageman Public Library are in similar situations. Beginning in 2028, JCPL will no longer automatically receive 40% of our budget. We will need approval from the County Council for local income tax funding for our budget. If they choose not to fund us, our ability to serve you will drastically change. Our funding through property taxes will also be reduced beginning in 2026, but by an amount that JCPL can manage for the next few years.
• The state is cutting the Indiana State Library’s (ISL) budget by 30%. JCPL receives services from ISL through group savings that make many resources affordable or provided at no extra cost to us.
• The potential elimination of the Institute for Museum and Library Services at the federal level will also impact JCPL. This agency provides $3.6M in federal funding to the Indiana State Library to fund essential statewide and local library materials and services.

I’m proud that JCPL is conservative in our fiscal management and spending. Our staffing levels are right-sized for four Library branches, an administration building, and a bookmobile. We maintain our buildings well, seeing them as publicly funded assets that belong to our residents.

What is at risk? If we lose 40% of our budget and have reduced resources from the Indiana State Library, you can expect these issues beginning in 2028:

• Reduced Staffing
• Library Location Closures
• Reduced Hours
• Reduced / Eliminated Programs
• Reduced / Eliminated Digital Resources (Hoopla, Libby, etc.)
• Fewer New Books and Materials
• Reduced Access to the Internet

Because of this uncertainty, we are pausing our White River Branch renovation and expansion project until we learn more about our future funding.

We will need you to help protect library funding in the future! Please join our JCPL Foundation’s advocacy team at www.jcplf.org/advocacy to support us.

Sincerely,

Lisa Lintner
Johnson County Public Library, Director
llintner@jcplin.org

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March 31, 2025

Dear Johnson County Public Library patrons,

On behalf of the Johnson County Public Library and its Board of Trustees, I am sharing significant developments affecting your local library and libraries throughout Indiana and across the United States.

On Friday, March 14, the White House issued Executive Order #14238, calling for the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), our nation’s only federal agency whose mission is to support America’s libraries and museums.

On Monday, March 31, the entire IMLS staff (approximately 70 employees) was placed on administrative leave for up to 90 days after a meeting with IMLS and the Department of Government Efficiency leaders.

These actions may have profound consequences for Indiana libraries. In the past many years, JCPL has received support from IMLS through services provided through the Indiana State Library (ISL). While other libraries in Indiana may be impacted in ways in addition to those listed below, these are the current resources JCPL patrons benefit from IMLS’s support:

• Indiana Digital Library consortium, through the Libby app, JCPL provides access to thousands of eBooks, eAudiobooks, and eMagazines. In 2024, 141,311 items were downloaded by JCPL cardholders.
• INSPIRE – a digital collection of scholarly databases supporting nearly all academic study areas. In 2024, 22,657 items were accessed by JCPL cardholders.
• Info Express is a courier service that transports library materials around the state, allowing JCPL to expand our resource offerings. In 2024, 4,799 items were sent and received for JCPL cardholders.
• TALK – a text messaging service to provide early childhood education tips to parents.
• WorldCat –a database JCPL uses for interlibrary loans and cataloging items.
• Books and Materials for the Blind, Visually Impaired and People with Print Disabilities – JCPL patrons can access these resources directly from the Indiana State Library.
• Indiana History Digitization – JCPL patrons access Indiana Memory and Hoosier State Chronicles through the ISL website.
• Staff training provided through ISL’s Office of Professional Development.

Several community members have asked what they can do or to learn more about these actions. I would like to refer any interested persons to seek additional information at the Indiana Library Federation website at: https://www.ilfonline.org/advocacy.

Sincerely,

Lisa Lintner
Library Director, Johnson County Public Library
llintner@jcplin.org