Arlington Public Library is warning local readers to expect longer wait times for popular titles after the collections budget was slashed.
In a release, the library said the collections budget was decreased by 21% in fiscal year.
“The library will continue to build and sustain a collection that fully serves the reading and educational needs of Arlington residents,” the release said. “However, patrons may notice some changes starting July 1.”
Those changes include:
- An increase in wait times for popular titles, both for print and digital collections
- Wait times increasing up to 35 weeks or longer for digital items
- The eBook Grab and Go collection will be discontinued for FY 2026
Anneliesa Alprin, communications director for Arlington Public Library, said the cost per use for eBooks is more expensive than print.
“The lower budget means fewer copies of popular digital titles will be purchased, leading to longer wait times for customers,” Alprin said.
Currently, Alprin said many popular eBooks have wait times of 20-24 weeks, with Abby Jimenez’s Say You’ll Remember Me having the longest wait time of 32 weeks.
The release also said the library is discontinuing streaming service Kanopy, opting instead for services called Biblio+ — which includes independent films and some BBC content — and Access Video — which has educational and entertainment videos from PBS, HBO, National Geographic and TED Talks.
Alprin said Kanopy had a limited number of “tickets” per month, while Biblio+ and Access Video offer unlimited streaming.
The cause of the budget decrease, Alprin said, was a reduction in one-time funds from the Arlington County Board.
“Most of the decrease is due to a decrease in one-time funds in the FY 2026 County budget,” Alprin said. “In FY 2025, the library received $882,525 in one-time funds as part of a total collections budget of $2,538,390. In FY 2026, the library received $350,000 in one-time funds as part of a total collections budget of $1,910,064.”
In making those cuts, Alprin said the library had to prioritize the less expensive print copies of books.
“Digital materials are more expensive than print,” Alprin said. “The lower budget means fewer copies of popular digital titles will be purchased, leading to longer wait times for library patrons.”
County Board Chair Takis Karantonis provided the following comment on the reasons for the budget cuts.
Public libraries are crucially important to every community and, among the numerous roles they play daily, serve as indispensable cultural and intellectual infrastructure for our community. The Board strongly supports the Arlington Public Library’s ongoing work to ensure these resources, programs, and services are available and welcoming to all, in high-quality and with as little delay as possible.
The appropriation of $250K in one-time funds the County Manager proposed, and the additional $100K the Board added during the mark-up process resulted in $350K in one-time funding for Fiscal Year 2026. This level of funding is consistent with what has been historically allocated to our Libraries for collections and reflects the County Board’s commitment to maintain this public resource even in challenging fiscal times. The collection budget overall has grown over the past decade from $1.3M in FY2015 to $1.9M in FY2026.
In the past few fiscal years, the county was fortunate to have notable windfalls and used some of this additional revenue to support our libraries with one-time funding. This fiscal year, unfortunately, we did not have the same economic outlook and needed to return to similar levels of funding to the past.
