A $300 Tax Break Isn’t Worth Losing Our Libraries

Dear Governor Braun and Members of the Indiana General Assembly, I am writing to tell you plainly: do not sacrifice Indiana’s public libraries on the altar of tax cuts. Senate Enrolled Act 1 was sold as relief for homeowners — an average of roughly $300 per year. But property taxes are the primary funding source for most Hoosier libraries, and the Indiana Library Federation projects funding reductions exceeding $11.6 million in 2026, growing to nearly $32.4 million by 2028. Libraries cannot raise local income taxes on their own; under this law, more than 200 library districts must now petition their counties simply to keep the funding they already had. Smaller and rural libraries with thin reserves face structural deficits, staff cuts, and outright closure. This compounds damage the state has already inflicted. The General Assembly cut the State Library’s budget by 30%, jeopardizing the INSPIRE research databases, the courier system, and the Internet Connectivity Grants that keep public internet access alive in communities across this state — all while federal library support was gutted. This is societally irresponsible. Libraries are not a luxury line item. They are where children learn to read, where job seekers write résumés and apply for work, where families without broadband get online, where seniors gather, and where communities find neutral, free, welcoming space. Research consistently links library access to literacy, workforce readiness, and stronger, safer neighborhoods. Every dollar “saved” by starving a library is paid back with interest in lost opportunity and weakened communities. A $300 tax break is not worth shuttering the institutions that build the next generation of Indiana’s thinkers and doers. I urge you to amend SEA 1 to protect dedicated library funding, restore the State Library’s budget, and guarantee that no Hoosier community loses its library to a legislative spreadsheet. Hoosiers are watching what you choose to value. Respectfully, A Voting Constituent