08 June 2026
Dear Secretary Oliva and members of the Arkansas State Library Board,
We express serious concerns about the proposed Rules Governing State Aid to Public Libraries. As the rules are currently drafted, it is unlikely that many, if any, public libraries in the state would be eligible for state aid, generally through no fault of their own. We urge the State Library Board and relevant rulemaking officials to suspend adoption of these draft rules, retain the prior standards on an interim basis, and open a fuller review process with adequate public notice, legal analysis, and stakeholder input.
The impetus for revising the rules, Senator Payton’s 2023 amendment to HB 1093 to include public libraries that are too small to be funded by an Amendment 30 millage, is undone by these proposed rules. Requiring a city library to be organized under Ark Code Ann Sl 3-2-501 (13 CAR 54-102 Eligible Entities) requires a city to be of the first class. Any city library that is not in a city of the first class would once again be ineligible.
The proposed rule under 13 CAR S 4-106 would harm certain libraries when they could least afford it. This rule requires a library to maintain an annual operating budget equal to or greater than 95% of the average of the three previous years’ annual operating budgets. For libraries like the Craighead County Jonesboro Public library, who had their local funding cut by 50%, or the Saline County Library, who is facing a 35% cut in funding, they would also see themselves becoming ineligible for state aid when they can least afford it.
In reviewing the new eligibility standards, 13 CAR S 4-107 Financial Accountability Requirements require a completed audit for each fiscal year to receive state funding. Libraries under the purview of Arkansas Legislative Audit have no control over the timeliness of their audits, yet would face the loss of state aid for failing to meet deadlines they cannot influence. As of this writing, Arkansas Legislative Audit has not completed the 2024 audits for the larger counties in the state and not a single county has received a completed 2025 audit. Small and rural libraries operating on tight budgets and limited staff would face disproportionate burdens in navigating these audit requirements, potentially losing critical state funding due to factors beyond their control. This raises serious questions about equitable access to state support across Arkansas’s diverse library landscape.
The proposed rules also create compliance uncertainty through vague language. 13 CAR S 4-107(a)(7) requires libraries to “maintain operations that benefit the citizens served by the library and are consistent with the purpose of a public library.” This subjective standard is not a matter of financial accountability and could be applied selectively against libraries based on philosophical or political disagreements of the “purpose of a public library” rather than objective financial or administrative performance.
There are additional concerns regarding the requirements in 13 CAR S 4-109 Library Resources. The definitions and restrictions in this section seem to contradict recent federal court rulings in Arkansas regarding content moderation and might open Arkansas libraries up to costly litigation. Another related practical concern is the burden these proposed restrictions would place on libraries to review all of their materials to identify content that could possibly make the library ineligible to receive state funding. Alternatively, the ADE would need to provide a list of titles containing “sexually explicit” material as defined by the federal statute cited in the proposed regulations.
In closing, we urge the State Library Board and relevant rulemaking officials to suspend adoption of these draft standards, retain the prior standards on an interim basis, and open a fuller review process with adequate public notice, legal analysis, and stakeholder input.
Yours in service,
Adam Webb
President, Arkansas Library Association
Co-signed by the following organizations:
