The Chapel Hill Public Library could lose a significant portion of its funding.
In March 2025, the Southern Branch Library in Carrboro finally opened its doors to the public, after years of planning and anticipation. Prior to the opening, only two libraries existed in Orange County, located in Hillsborough and Chapel Hill, with the county’s budget allocating about $620,000 to the main Chapel Hill location.
A year after the Carrboro opening, county officials say it’s time to shift direction, and at a May 5 meeting, proposed a budget that would eliminate its funding for the Chapel Hill Library over a two-year phase-out.
The proposed budget doesn’t sit well with everyone. Friends of the Chapel Hill Library (FCHPL), a nonprofit that fundraises for the library, has launched a local campaign to advocate for the county revenue, calling on residents to voice opposition, with advocates pointing out that the proposal would cut 72% of the library’s operating budget and could lead to reduced hours and services. Operating costs do not, however, include personnel costs; the funding at risk of being cut amounts to about 14.4% of the library’s total budget, according to an FAQ page the Chapel Hill Public Library has created in response to the proposed cuts.
Friends of the Chapel Hill Library President Karen Curtin said cuts could start with a reduction in hours and the removal of free library cards for those who live outside of the town.
“The operating costs are what are going to have the most immediate impact, because that’s what we put into collections, funding, part-time staff, programs,” Curtin said. “These are the things that really impact people.”
To offset the costs, the Town of Chapel Hill could—according to the library website—raise property taxes and charge for using meeting rooms and printers to increase revenue. The town could also reduce costs through laying off part-time staff, reducing weekend hours, or cutting its collections budget.
The library currently receives $621,323 annually from the county, an allocation which would be halved beginning July 1 of this year. All funding from the county would end on July 1, 2027. The county’s current contribution makes up about 0.5% of its general fund expenditures.
The Town of Chapel Hill has primarily funded the library. The town provided about $3.5 million to the library last year, about 72% of the library’s revenue.
The county has historically given Chapel Hill money to cover Orange County residents’ use of the Chapel Hill library, a memo from the county manager reads, but now those residents have a county facility offering “robust library services.”
“The payment was conceived during a time when the County and the Town were seeking interoperability. Since that time, the County has constructed the Southern Branch Library at the Drakeford Building in Carrboro,” the memo reads.
Some Orange County and Chapel Hill residents have shared their concerns with the county.
In an email to commissioners, Orange County resident Emma Tynch said the library is an “essential resource” for all county residents.
“I have used both the Chapel Hill and Carrboro libraries and they are complimentary to each other,” Tynch wrote. “One is not going to be able to fulfill the functions of the other. Suggesting that the existence of the Carrboro library means Orange County should no longer fund CHPL is a misunderstanding of how libraries work and the populations they serve.”
Chapel Hill resident Alec Higgins wrote that the proposed cut would have substantial consequences for the area’s “primary and premier library.” The Chapel Hill Public Library serves about 40% of the county’s residents.
“The Chapel Hill Public Library offers far more extensive programming, a larger collection, and a more accessible location than the Southern Branch to Chapel Hill residents, and CHPL shares those perks with residents outside our town,” Higgins wrote. “Why should Chapel Hill residents be asked to pay for our share of Orange County’s libraries and fully fund our own library because a new facility was built nearby?”
Commission Chair Jean Hamilton, who supports the proposal, said it is necessary given the county’s “budget crunch.” The county provides funding to both Orange County and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, the sheriff’s office, and public health, among other items. The money mostly comes from property taxes.
“Given where we are with cuts in federal revenues, not getting money from the state, the county is put in a very difficult position of trying to maintain the services that we’re mandated to give,” Hamilton said, adding that library funding is not the only budget item she would consider cutting. Hamilton said she will look at everything to reduce the tax burden on residents, but ceasing payments to Chapel Hill’s library would be a first step.
In a statement to the INDY, vice-chair Amy Fowler said the proposed budget included a number of cuts to most county departments. However, Fowler said she plans to bring an amendment to the commission to restore the funding.
“I am personally a big fan of the Chapel Hill Public Library and see firsthand on a weekly basis how much a community hub it serves,” Fowler wrote. “It also seems equitable to fund library services for all Orange County citizens.”
The amendment would need four commissioners to vote for it, which Fowler said she is not sure will happen as the board members remain “very focused on preventing a tax increase.”
With the cuts, Orange County residents who use the library could also lose access to free library cards, which currently cost $65 for anyone who lives outside of Orange, Alamance, Caswell, Chatham, Durham, or Person County. Curtin said the proposed cut left her “quite stunned,” considering the large number of Orange County residents who live in Chapel Hill.
“It’s a problem, and it’s a big part of our budget,” Curtin said. “And there are many people in the county and Chapel Hill…, including those who are not residents of Chapel Hill, who are very unhappy about it.”
The Orange County Board of Commissioners will hold a budget public hearing and work session May 12. It will vote on the budget June 16.
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