HF 2622: Changing Library Oversight and Setting New Standards

Successor to HSB 720

This bill would change the independence of library boards in the state of Iowa, removing their authority and making them advisory.

• Eliminates independence of library boards
• Requires cities to absorb library administrative, financial, oversight and policy authority on July 1, 2026, effectively mandating an overnight transition.
• Requires gifts, devises, and bequests made to or for the benefit of a library to be accepted, held, and expended under the authority of the city council, creating increased liability and donor responsibility for city councils.
• Removes voter approval requirements before altering library board authority.
• Consolidates power in elected positions, increasing the risk of politicizing decisions about library materials.
• Gives elected officials (City Council) the final say on library materials challenges.

This bill creates a standard for age-appropriate materials defined as “topics and messages suitable to particular ages based on developing cognitive, emotional, and behavioral capacity typical for the age.”

• The definition is broad and subjective.
• Requires libraries to restrict materials in a manner that would be logistically challenging or impossible, depending on library size and design.

This bill ties city funding to content-based restrictions.

• Libraries that do not comply with their age-appropriate standards would lose access to all public funding, including both state and local.
• Creates instability for libraries around funding.

This bill weakens current confidentiality of library records code.

• Allows parents to access minors’ borrowing records.

Things to Note:

• Libraries already have policies for collection development and parental oversight.
• Librarians are already making decisions about collections based on age-appropriateness. This bill would replace professional knowledge with political oversight.
• This erodes local control and gives oversight to an elected body, not library trustees.
   

HF 2324 Public Library/School Agreements 

Successor to HSB 636

Prohibits school districts, charter schools, and innovation zone schools from entering into agreements with public libraries that allow students to use school-issued ID cards to access library resources. It also prohibits these schools from allowing mobile libraries to visit school property for book lending events. 

This bill would prevent libraries from sending vehicles, such as our Outreach Wheeled Library (OWL) to schools for book checkouts to students. 

Speak Up for The Library!

Special Library Levy

In 2003, residents in Davenport voted to give a little extra money to The Library through taxes. This helped build and run our Fairmount and Eastern branches. But in 2023, a new law stopped that extra money. Now, some libraries in Iowa, especially in small towns, are having a hard time. People who care about libraries are asking lawmakers to bring the extra money back. You can help by telling your leaders why libraries are important!

DETAILS: The levy was a local voter-approved property tax that allowed residents to tax themsleves $0.27 per $1,000 assessed value to provide for enhanced library service in their community. This Issue Brief highlights the challenges faced by institutions and communities that previously relied on the levies eliminated by HF718. Numerous libraries and museums that depend on this funding are experiencing significant difficulties, particularly in rural areas, should the levies not be restored. A call to action has been issued by those in the library and museum community, as the legislature is currently deliberating additional property tax bills, HSB313/SSB1208 & SSB1227, and advocates believe this represents the best chance for the restoration of the levies.

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