OLIS 2025 Year in Review
OLIS Year in Review: 2025
For the Office of Library and Information Services (OLIS), 2025 was a year of marked successes while navigating unsteady waters. OLIS distributed $10.6 million to municipalities to support public library services in accordance with state statutes and regulations, and $2.2 million to reimburse library construction projects in eight communities. OLIS also invested $1.1 million for online electronic resources to support learning and workforce development through AskRI; Rhode Islanders logged nearly 8.1 million sessions using the various resources and conducted over 12 million searches. State Aid for FY2026 was again funded at 25% thanks to the efforts of the RI Library Association and the library community; OLIS will distribute a total of $14.2 million in the fiscal year that began July 1, 2025, an increase of $122,402 over the previous year.
At the end of January, OLIS announced that it would be finalizing work this year to revise and update the Minimum Standards for Rhode Island Public Libraries, as charged by the Library Board of Rhode Island (LBRI). The committee, including members of the LBRI and representatives of large, medium, and small libraries, including municipal and non-municipal libraries, published the first draft of the proposed changes for stakeholder feedback. The final draft of changes was approved by the Library Board of Rhode Island on April 28, 2025. Work on promulgating the standards into law was interrupted in the spring due to unforeseen circumstances but will continue in 2026 when the new standards will be promulgated following a public hearing; there will be a grace period for libraries to come into compliance with the new standards.
Federal Actions Threaten OLIS Funding
On March 14, the White House issued an Executive Order on Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy ( March Executive Order on IMLS). This order eliminated to the maximum extent the “non-statutory components and functions” of several government entities, including the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) which administers the Grants to States Program, the single largest source of federal funding for libraries in the nation. Grants to States, a provision of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) provides the Office of Library and Information Services with 45% of its annual budget. OLIS prepared for the impacted loss of funds from IMLS, while Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha worked to co-lead a lawsuit with 19 other state attorneys general to stop the dismantling of IMLS. The lawsuit was filed in US District Court in Rhode Island, placing Rhode Island at the forefront of the fight to preserve federal funding for libraries.
While some OLIS programs, such as subgrants to libraries were paused due to the financial uncertainty brought about by the Executive Order and the subsequent freezing of federal funds, the filing of this lawsuit by Attorney General Neronha and others, and its following litigation, paused the implementation of the Executive Order and released funds to state library agencies nationwide, enabling OLIS to continue to provide steady service to RI libraries. In November, a permanent injunction of the Executive Order was granted, along with an order to restore the activities of the IMLS.
Back to Basics and Reading Programs
Throughout the year, OLIS engaged in many of its regular activities, especially those that were low or no cost. OLIS partnered with the US Census Bureau to bring a series of professional development sessions to library staff, providing attendees with instruction on how to access, explore, and use the data resources available. OLIS continued to offer support to libraries as they filed for LORI Resource Sharing Certification and completed the Public Library Annual Survey. OLIS staff also continued to work with the RI Center for the Book on reading programs to support lifelong literacy such as the RI Children’s Book Award, Kids Reading Across Rhode Island, and Reading Across Rhode Island.
The 2025 Rhode Island Children's Book Award winner was The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name by Sandhya Parappukkaran, illustrated by Michelle Pereira. This year 8,774 students from 103 schools and public libraries voted for their favorite 2025 nominee.
The 2025 Kids Reading Across Rhode Island kickoff took place on June 14 at the William Hall Library, bringing families, librarians, and community groups together to celebrate reading and play. Local author and illustrator Oge Mora shared how she creates her books and signed free copies of Saturday, while her other titles were featured as part of KRARI’s first focus on an author’s full body of work. The move from the State House to a public library put a spotlight on the places that anchor summer learning, with fifteen libraries and partner organizations offering crafts, games, and information for families. Kids previewed RI PBS’s (now Ocean State Media) new Student Reader Search videos, and the statewide “Where is Gordon?” library scavenger hunt launched. The day showed how books, imagination, and community set the stage for a summer of reading.
OLIS partnered with the RI Center for the Book to support the 2025 Reading Across Rhode Island program featuring There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib, a rich exploration of how we think about culture, claiming home, and success. The program kicked off at the State House in February and was followed by programs around the state including discussion of the book and deep exploration of its themes. The program culminated in the author visit on April 22 at the RISD Auditorium. With a full house of over 400 attendees, Abdurraqib shared an excerpt of the book and engaged the audience in a robust Q&A all about his experience writing the book, exploring his life, and why he chooses to root for the basketball team he roots for.
OLIS was able to once again offer mini grants to public libraries to support Summer Reading Programs from June – August. With funds from OLIS, libraries purchased materials and hired educational presenters to support summer programming under the 2025 iREAD theme, Level Up at Your Library. OLIS also supported a statewide scavenger hunt for Gordon, a mascot for the Summer Reading Program from artist Ruth Chan. Stuffed Gordons at participating libraries played hide-and-seek all summer; patrons who found him in at least 25 libraries won a special prize and were entered to win a grand prize of a giant stuffed Gordon, provided by our partners at the RI Center for the Book. Libraries reported great engagement through the scavenger hunt, with many libraries meeting new families who traveled around the state to find Gordon. Nearly 15,000 children, teens, and adults participated in the Summer Reading Program, while over 78,000 children, teens, and adults attended library programs, an increase of nearly 40% from 2024.
In the fall, OLIS worked with state agencies across New England to host the annual Teen Summit for teen librarians in the region for a full day focused on strengthening teen services in public and school libraries. The event opened with a keynote from author and educator Josh Galarza, whose debut novel The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky was a 2024 National Book Award finalist and is a 2026 RI Teen Book Award nominee. Galarza spoke about his work as a writer and visual artist, his background in Montessori education, and the themes that shape his fiction, including gender, identity, and community. The remaining schedule featured a mix of hands-on program ideas and sessions that tackled broader issues facing teens and addressed systemwide concerns and long-term planning. The summit gave staff across all six states a chance to learn from one another and gain practical tools to strengthen teen programs and partnerships.
OLIS’ Talking Books Library continued to provide readers’ advisory, technical assistance, and referrals to additional services for blind, visually impaired, and physically or print disabled readers. The library circulated nearly 8,000 items to members each month throughout 2025, delivered right to participants’ homes free of charge through the US Postal Service or via download. Talking Books Library staff also hosted 6 book discussions with members throughout 2025, engaging members in a unique community building opportunity.
Freedom to Read, Trustee Programming, and a Digital Library
Summer brought additional positive news for the library community as RI lawmakers voted to enact the Freedom to Read bill which supports free expression and access to information by prohibiting the censorship of library materials. Celebrated as the strongest law in the country by national groups involved with its passage, the Freedom to Read Act protects the right to read as well as the right for libraries and librarians to curate without penalty diverse collections that meet the needs of learners and readers statewide. The Governor hailed the bill as landmark legislation that ensures libraries are sanctuaries for intellectual freedom for generations to come. Under the law, OLIS is charged with developing a model collection development and consideration policy for public libraries and ensuring that libraries establish such to ensure inclusive and diverse collections at their libraries. OLIS is further charged to develop a model collection development policy for school libraries in partnership with the RI Dept. of Education. Passage of the Freedom to Read Act is the culmination of three years of effort by the Rhode Island Library Association and a coalition of other organizations around the state.
In the Fall, OLIS hosted a training for Library Trustees, reviewing the roles and responsibilities of library trustees, state laws and regulations that trustees should be familiar with and sharing best practices for operating a library board. The session engaged library trustees from across the state, providing valuable guidance and providing follow up resources such as a series of trustee trainings hosted in the OLIS Online Learning Center specifically for new Library Trustee/Board members entitled, “Welcome to the Board.”
In partnership with the Brown University Library and the Providence Public Library, OLIS launched the initial prototype of the Digital Library of Rhode Island. This project brings together digital collections from various cultural heritage institutions into a single access point. Following an initial community preview on November 4, the project is currently being refined for a soft release scheduled for May 2026. This initiative represents a sustained effort to improve the findability of Rhode Island’s digital collections. While the project was initially conceived as part of the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA), OLIS and its partners are proceeding with the project as a stand-alone digital library with the flexibility to integrate with DPLA or similar national projects in the future.
Data, Statistics, and a Library Podcast
Each year, OLIS collects statistics on libraries and inter-library resource sharing. This year, 127 library systems, including academic, public, school and special libraries (a total of 156 individual outlets) were certified as part of the Library of Rhode Island (LORI), and eligible for resource sharing. Over 1.7 million items were shared among LORI libraries through the OLIS delivery system, and just over 66,000 items were exchanged with libraries out of state. This is a 4% increase in loan activity from the previous fiscal year. OLIS facilitated over 800 ILL requests between local library networks within the state and initiated another 1,800 requests on behalf of libraries to receive items from outside the LORI network. To support this work, OLIS convenes the Resource Sharing Working Group which meets five times per year and works to support access to resource sharing and develop programs that foster professional, educational and recreational enrichment for library staff and patrons in all types of libraries.
Finally, OLIS continued to support the statewide library podcast, Overdueing It. This project, facilitated with a statewide team of librarians, publishes new content every other week where hosts (librarians) connect with local luminaries. Hosts and guests engage in conversations around their current reads and interests, providing a casual avenue for reader’s advisory for listeners, followed by an interview-style conversation to connect listeners with events, projects, and organizations around the state; many of whom partner with Rhode Island libraries. In 2025, the project released 28 episodes (23 originals), and reached over 2,000 listeners (an average of 79 unique listens in the first 90 days of an episode’s release), and connected with a variety of statewide, and in some cases, international, guests to discuss books/writing, cooperative business approaches, community building, local history and historical buildings, and more. Guests included author Reading Across RI featured author Hanif Abdurraqib, local bestselling author Vanessa Lillie, and local librarian, debut author, and TikTok star Liz Gotauco.
OLIS looks forward to an equally productive, but hopefully less challenging year, in 2026. We’d like to thank everyone in the library community for their steadfast support of OLIS during the challenging times last spring when OLIS federal funding was in serious jeopardy, and for your full embrace of OLIS programs and services throughout the year. Together, we will continue to provide Rhode Islanders with full and unfettered access to information and programs that educate, inspire, and transform lives.