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| The New Hampshire State Library on the morning of 25 March 2025 while lawmakers were debating its fate across the street in the statehouse |
Yesterday, 24 March 2025, on WMUR TV there was a report that a bill would move forward to close the New Hampshire State Library and the Council on the Arts. Joe Sweeney (R) of Salem stated that "There is no constitutional need to fund the state library" and he proposed eliminating funding. The parent agency for the state library falls under the New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, which also oversees historical sites, NH forests and lands, and parks and recreation.
Immediately on social media there was a firestorm of complaints about closing the state library, with lots of links posted on how to contact members of the statehouse and state senators. I sent several emails, and I shared this information with my friends, members of genealogy groups, local history in New Hampshire groups, and other groups in New England. People from as far away as Australia, Washington State, Canada, and California all wanted to know who to contact or how to help.
Well, the email campaign must have worked, because by 11:30 on Tuesday morning 25 March 2025 the NH statehouse announced that they were no longer considering defunding the New Hampshire State Library. However, they still had the New Hampshire Council for the Arts on the chopping block. I'm relieved, but still cautious that this does not bode well for the future of the state library or any other public libraries here in New Hampshire, across New England, or across the United States. WMUR TV also had a story about this reprieve.
Our New Hampshire State Library is the oldest in the United States. It was originally founded in 1717 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and then relocated to Concord in 1808. The granite building at 20 Park Street is located across the street from the New Hampshire State House. Most state libraries contain state government publications, historical records, legislative documents, maps, statute books, and records unique to the state such as town, city and county reports, family histories, town histories, manuscripts and newspapers. You can see why this is a valuable, one-of-a-kind resource for the citizens of the state. It is located close to the statehouse so members and staff of the government can quickly and efficiently obtain historical and legislative information from specially skilled librarians.
I have visited several state libraries across the country from Maine, to Massachusetts, to Hawaii, but the New Hampshire State Library is where I do most of my genealogy and local history research for this blog and for my own family history. I refer people to this library often, probably at least once or twice a week from queries to this blog. The State Library is a terrific place for authors, historians, and genealogists who travel from across the globe to Concord for their research. The skilled staff here is ready to assist anyone who shows up, not just lawmakers. Out of state visitors and even local visitors to this library bring economic benefits to Concord and New Hampshire when they frequent the restaurants, hotels and local businesses.
On March 14 the White House announced that the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) would be "governmental entities [that] shall be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law." We need to be prepared to see libraries across the country face the same fight as the New Hampshire State Library. Since 2015 the IMLS has granted over $15 million to libraries and museums in New Hampshire. The State Library uses these funds for critical programs like the Interlibrary Loan System, digital access to ebooks, and the Talking Book program for the blind. [from an email from Michael Haley Goldman of the IMLS, received 25 March 2025].
Tuesday morning, while the lawmakers were debating this controversy across the street in the statehouse, I visited the staff at the State Library and took these photos.
I will follow up on this story with a blog post about the wonderful genealogical resources available at the NH State Library. Please, take some time soon to visit this wonderful resource in Concord, New Hampshire. We need to let the librarians and staff know they are valued, and that we are thinking about them and their careers at this stressful time.
For the truly curious:
The 24 March 2025 story on WMUR, "Budget Plan would eliminate New Hampshire State Library, Council on the Arts": https://www.wmur.com/article/new-hampshire-state-library-council-arts-budget/64277841
The 25 March 2025 story on WMUR, "NH lawmakers back away from plan to eliminate state library after flood of email": https://www.wmur.com/article/nh-state-library-budget-cut-reversal-32525/64286244
Wikipedia New Hampshire State Library: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Hampshire_State_Library
Wikipedia New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Hampshire_Department_of_Natural_and_Cultural_Resources
The Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA): https://www.cosla.org/
Information about state libraries from the American Library Association: https://www.ala.org/tools/atoz/state-library-agencies
A previous blog post written in 2019 about genealogical resources in Concord, New Hampshire, including the New Hampshire State Library: https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/05/researching-your-ancestors-in-concord.html
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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "New Hampshire State Library Budget Cuts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 26, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/03/new-hampshire-state-library-budget-cuts.html: accessed [access date]).
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