Marci Carpenter has been visiting the Washington Talking Book and Braille Library since she was in middle school.
Carpenter was born with vision loss, and learned to read Braille as a young adult. Now in her mid-60s, she still uses the library’s services daily.
“I can’t walk into a public library and get a Braille book. This is the only place in the whole state of Washington where I can do that,” Carpenter said. “It’s really a lifeline for people.”
The library offers services for anyone unable to read standard print. It provides books and magazines in both Braille and audio formats, as well as through mail or on an app. A youth services librarian provides training on how to use the library’s services. The space even produces Northwest-focused Braille books in-house, supplementing the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled’s collection.
In the face of state and federal funding cuts, the future of all of these resources is uncertain.
On May 12, the Office of the Secretary of State announced they delivered 47 at-risk-of-layoff letters to Washington State Library employees, informing them they were among those whose jobs could be terminated.
On May 23, 12 employees from the Central Library, Talking Book and Braille Library and Research Library in Tumwater received word they had been laid off, according to library officials.
Two were laid off from the Washington Talking Book and Braille Library. Library director Danielle Miller said starting July 1, layoffs will force employees to close the building to the public, return calls by voicemail instead of through a live phone operator, slow the onboarding of new members and force the cancellation of several library programs.
“While it is so painful for us as a staff, to be experiencing reductions in service, it’s really going to hurt the people who use this library,” she said.
Weeks of financial turmoil surrounding state and federal funding sources have left library employees and supporters reeling. Now they’re raising concerns about the accessibility of library resources under budget cuts and additional layoffs.
“There is this idea that we don’t need libraries from the federal level,” state librarian Sara Jones said. “When there’s an attack on everything that is a public good, it’s really going to have a tragic consequence for our society.”
Where’s the money?
The library’s layoff announcement comes in the wake of an increasingly complex funding crisis among Washington’s state libraries.
In the past, document recording fees funded the library system’s operations. In buying or selling a house, the government charges a fee to record the deeds, which goes to the state archives and libraries. This revenue was once enough to fund the library’s services. But as rising interest rates drove down the sales of houses, library employees were forced to look to other sources to continue operating.
The library system requested $6.7 million from the State Legislature to continue operations. But when the 2025-2027 operating budget was finalized on April 27, it included nothing for libraries.
In crafting the budget, the State Legislature faced a $15 billion budget shortfall over the next four years, driven by costly new programs, inflation and higher demand for services.
State Librarian Sara Jones said that although she understands these financial difficulties, funding for libraries should be a priority now more than ever.
“In my entire library career which has spanned over many decades, I think this is the most critical point for this type of service,” Jones said. “Our democracy is at risk for many reasons, but we need information for people to make good decisions. When you cut it off, you’re gonna cut off good decision-making.”
Another blow to libraries came last month when President Trump signed an executive order dismantling the Office of Museum and Library Services, the primary source of federal funding for the state library system. The order also terminated $3.9 million in Congressionally approved grants allotted to Washington libraries.
That order was paused after a judge granted a temporary restraining order in response to a lawsuit filed by the American Library Association and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
In a separate lawsuit filed by 21 state attorneys general, a judge approved an injunction ordering the agency to reverse all steps they had taken to implement the order. This restored the state’s grant money, but the agency’s unpredictable standing leaves the library in a precarious position.
Jones condemned the president’s actions, calling them “arbitrary and capricious.”
“It’s good one day, it’s bad the other day,” she said. “It’s really difficult to plan and to operate an efficient practice and service with uncertain money.”
Good news came for library employees when Governor Ferguson signed HB 1207 last Tuesday. This bill mandates that a small portion of document recording fees from court cases go to library services, amounting to about $3 million per year.
While Jones welcomed the legislation, she said it doesn’t solve the larger funding issue.
“We’re going to need to go to the Legislature in this next session and really try to describe more effectively what these cuts did to us, and, more importantly, what they did to the community,” she said.
Washington is not the only state to feel the burn of federal budget cuts. Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency also targeted library grants in California and Connecticut.
“The budget that he’s trying to propose now calls for elimination of the agency,” Jones said. “There’s a large fight ahead to try to maintain any level of service for libraries at the federal level.”
What happens now?
Of the 17 employees at the Washington Talking Book and Braille Library, 15 received at-risk-of-layoff notices. The 12 employees laid off last week will remain through June 30.
Starting July 1, the library will close its doors to the general public.
Future changes could also include a slowdown in the circulation of library materials, disruptions to technology support and reader advisory services, and a suspension or cessation of locally produced audio and Braille books.
Miller said patrons cannot find these resources elsewhere in the state.
“This library, in general, is unique because it’s providing independence and access and ability to keep reading for life, for people who are otherwise not able to do so,” Miller said. “It’s a critical resource.”
Marci Carpenter is also the president of the Washington affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind. She and her organization advocated in favor of funding the library with the Legislature.
She said closing the library’s doors would be a “huge loss” for blind Washingtonians.
“This is the only place that blind children and adults and blind seniors and other people who can’t read regular print can get books,“ Carpenter said. “It would really be devastating to our community.”
Jones called for lawmakers to learn more about the libraries before the next biennium.
“I hope, since we are past the legislative session, that there’s some time to take to understand us better and to see what our service points are, and what the lack of these services are going to do,” she said.
While they will take a hit, Miller said they will continue serving blind and partially sighted people throughout the state.
“While we are facing reductions in services, we will still be circulating books, and we will still be here,” she said. “We have the ability to provide services to more people, and want to be here to do that.”
