Some Wisconsin libraries are struggling for funds due to inflation, budget shortfalls

Inflation and budget shortfalls are plaguing some public libraries in Wisconsin. 

Most recently, South Milwaukee announced residents will decide in an April referendum whether to approve a $425,000 property tax levy increase to fund the city’s public library. If approved by voters, the levy increase would add about $60 to the annual property tax bill for the owner of a home assessed at $225,000.

The South Milwaukee Library’s budget allocation has decreased by almost 20 percent since 2019. That’s left the library with limited staff, less new materials and the lowest number of open hours among Milwaukee County libraries.

The referendum would allow the library to add staff, programming and books. It would also allow the library to stay open an additional 10 hours a week.

Bethany Meyer is the library’s executive director. She said if the referendum does not pass, there could be further cuts to the staff and resources. 

“I think in a way, it kind of just continues to become a shell of what it was,” Meyer said.

She says without more funding the library would only be able to stay open a couple days each week. 

Other Wisconsin cities and municipalities are facing similar budget issues.

The La Crosse Library Board voted in December to close the city’s North Branch Library to address a $175,000 funding shortfall after city budget reductions. The location permanently closes in June. 

Last May, the Menominee Falls Village Board slashed $300,000 from their library’s budget to help finance its police department, cutting more than 14 percent of the library’s funding.

Kara Sullivan is the executive director of the Wisconsin Library Association. She says inflation is affecting counties, municipalities and libraries alike. 

“Libraries have to pay for materials, digital content, staff and benefits, water and electric bills, and those costs are all rising,” Sullivan said. “Conversely, cities are also having to face increased inflationary pressure, and so they’re faced with difficult decisions.”

She says it’s easier to “think of library funding as an onion” with many different layers. 

Most money comes from municipal and county budgets. Wisconsin libraries are also funded at the federal and state levels. The state primarily pays for shared infrastructure through 15 public library systems. Federal money flows from the Institute of Museums and Library Sciences to the state’s Department of Public Instruction. 

“So when communities say that libraries have less money than a few years ago, it often reflects one or more of these dynamics, rather than, you know, say, a single budget cut,” Sullivan said.

In March 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that Sullivan said “effectively abolished” the IMLS. This delayed Wisconsin from receiving $3.2 million in allocated funds until the agency reinstated all federal grants last December.