06/24/2026
SUPPORT TO INCREASE LIBRARY SERVICES IS GROWING
Good news for the Grand Rapids Area Library was shared during Monday’s City Council meeting.
Councilor Molly MacGregor reported that fund-raising for library staffing needs has successfully reached $90,000. The goal is to raise $120,000 by Sept. 1 when the Grand Rapids City Council will start their budget process. Last fall, city budget cuts reduced the library’s operations by 25 percent, dropping days of service to three days a week.
As MacGregor detailed Monday, all money raised in the Supporting Our Grand Rapids Area Library Fund at Grand Rapids Area Community Foundation (GRACF) will go to staff salaries instead of materials with the intent to expand hours of service. To boost that effort towards its goal, an anonymous donor has offered a $30,000 matching grant at GRACF. Those who want to support the library’s fundraising goal, should do so through the GRACF to be counted toward the match, explained MacGregor.
A special meeting was held at the library Wednesday afternoon, where library staff joined concerned citizens to discuss how to mobilize the community to raise the funds still needed before the Library Board will approve the library’s 2027 schedule this fall. The hope is the money will allow the library to be open four or five days a week.
The City of Grand Rapids owns and operates the library which has been a member of the Arrowhead Library System (ALS) since 1965. As MacGregor explained, other area municipalities, townships and Itasca County also fund the library at various levels. While the Grand Rapids Area Library is used by all residents of the county, more than two-thirds of card holders live outside the city.
The Minnesota Legislature sets the minimum amount that cities and counties can levy to support their libraries. This minimum has not increased in 15 years.
“It’s why we’re in the pickle we’re in,” said MacGregor who said city leaders have been working with the Center for Rural Development on proposals to make the state’s library funding formula more equitable across all regions.
“I think, as taxpayers, we would be willing to pay for added amenities,” commented former Grand Rapids Mayor Sue Zeige who suggested the city look at sharing resources between departments, perhaps holding off on big purchases in one area to keep services in another. “If we can hire a cannabis manager, I think the library deserves funding.”
“I’m willing to pay more but my voice is not as loud as those who don’t want their taxes raised,” said library patron Karen Karls. “Still, I think anyone involved with economic development would be concerned about the library.”
“People take it for granted that we have a library,” commented GRACF Executive Director Mindy Nurhing.
Ideas presented during the special meeting Wednesday included ways to engage both regular patrons and those unfamiliar with the library such as using the facility as a community center, hosting home-school events, or making it a stop on local economic development tours. Between now and September, plans are to educate more people about the benefits of contributing to the library’s fund at GRACF with posters at stores and offices, bookmarks tucked in the pockets of politicians and flyers distributed at all sorts of gatherings this summer.
For more information about the Supporting Our Grand Rapids Area Library Fund, visit www.gracf.org.
