Cutting library funding means cutting lifelines for communities

Every Friday night, my 5-year-old walks through the door beaming, arms overflowing with books. He’s just spent the afternoon in a safe, vibrant place where he could play, learn, and grow, at no cost to our family: the library.

Libraries are much more than buildings full of books. As a social work educator, I helped launch a social work internship at a local branch in 2024. The social work intern quickly became, and has remained, an integral part of the library, helping patrons navigate everything from housing challenges to emotional crises. It was a natural fit, because libraries today are true community hubs.

That’s why recent waves of budget cuts, closures, and censorship should concern all of us. These aren’t just policy decisions. They’re attacks on one of the last truly accessible, inclusive, and free public spaces we have left. Libraries are often the quiet heroes, filling gaps in underfunded schools, overwhelmed health systems, and stretched social services.

For children especially, libraries offer so much more than just stories; they offer belonging. Kids can find books that reflect their hopes, dreams, and identities. And for those young people facing great hardship or lacking support, a library can be a place of comfort and vital self-discovery. In the stacks, they can find themselves and the tools to navigate a world that doesn’t always feel safe or welcoming. That kind of access isn’t a luxury, it’s a lifeline, and it should be protected.

Yet across the country, libraries are being targeted for carrying books that include LGBT+ characters, confront the realities of racism, or that make some people uncomfortable. This effort to silence needed and varied voices is not some harmless “culture war.” It erases history and identity. It also sends a chilling message to those still figuring out who they are: “You don’t belong.” One group being particularly targeted by this type of behavior is trans youth.

This fight over books may seem symbolic to some, but the related issues are painfully real. As Spencer Cox, the Republican governor of Utah, recently shared, 86% of trans youth report feeling suicidal and 56% have attempted suicide. Whatever your politics are, we should all agree on this: No child should be made to feel unsafe, unloved, or unworthy. Removing books that reflect people’s lives or offer them hope is not protecting anyone. It is needlessly cruel and deeply isolating for people who may need the support most.

Fairhope Public Library supporters raise money to replace funds state plans to withhold

Libraries are also a lifeline for low-income families and individuals. They provide free Wi-Fi for job seekers and many locations offer other types of assistance like mental health referrals, literacy programs, self-care workshops, and voter registration assistance. So, when we cut library funding, we’re not just changing a budget, we’re gutting a key part of our nation’s social safety net.

When a library closes because of those budget cuts, communities lose a lot more than books. Individuals and families lose essential services and safe spaces, and children lose a place which encourages their growth and curiosity. And when we censor what children can read, we don’t just limit their access to information, we limit their ability to cope and dream, as well as who they can become.

We talk a lot as a society about wanting the best future possible for our children. But building that future requires more than words. It requires investing in places that feed their mind, nurture their interests, and help them feel seen. That place, for so many, is the library. When we invest in libraries, we invest in our neighbors, our children, and a more informed and compassionate society.

During National Library Week — as a parent, a social worker, and lifelong lover of books — I am reflecting on the important role libraries play. They are sources of information, imagination, and connection.

Cutting library budgets doesn’t just close doors, it silences stories, limits dreams, and deepens divides. And censoring books isn’t protection. It’s restriction. Every child deserves a place where their imagination can run wild and every adult deserves a space where they can access tools to grow, thrive, or just be. During this National Library Week, libraries deserve more than just our gratitude; they deserve our protection.