The Anne Arundel County Public Library, with 16 branches across the county, received a $2.4 million budget increase in the county’s fiscal year 2026 budget that passed in June.
That brings the library system’s budget to $38.3 million, and the increase has already been earmarked for a variety of projects. Here’s where that money is going, plus another $12.5 million project also funded by the new county budget, but separate from the library’s main allotment.
Millersville Library/YMCA hybrid
A new library is set to be built in Millersville that will share a building with a YMCA, and the county has put $12.5 million aside for it.
According to Anne Arundel Public Library CEO Skip Auld, he was contacted by the Steuart Pittman administration with the prospect around half a year ago. Auld expects the library’s portion of the building to be around 20,000 square feet, and there is not a date for when it might open. According to the library’s current master plan, site selection is not expected to take place until 2027.
This would be the library’s first collaboration with an outside organization, but a similar setup is expected to be in place in the forthcoming Glen Burnie library that will share its space with the county Cultural Resources Lab and Local History Resource Center. That building is still being designed by Louis Cherry Architecture, WGM Architecture + Interiors and Margaret Sullivan Studio. It expects to share the preliminary design later this year and a construction timeline early next year.
Cost-of-living adjustments and merit increases
Auld estimates a significant part of the increase will go to a 3% cost-of-living adjustment, as well as 3% merit increases for employees who receive “satisfactory” on their performance reviews this year.
These are not related to the ratification of a union contract last week that gave 12% raises and covered more than 400 people.
Security upgrades
The library says $180,000 will be put toward the ongoing replacement of security cameras across its branches, which will be hooked into a county-wide security system.
“As fiscally responsible as our county is, they’re always looking to see if they can sometimes fund a one-time expense, as opposed to something like additional positions that have to be built into the ongoing budget,” Auld said.
Digital security is also a focus, as seen with a $25,000 firewall replacement for the Odenton Library and $14,000 for cybersecurity training. Auld said the investments are a result of a 2018 cyberattack and an attempt to prevent something similar from happening again. In the past few years, a cybersecurity administrator was brought on to fortify the library’s digital systems.
Discoveries at Annapolis Mall
Discoveries, the library’s outpost at the Annapolis Mall, will pay $14,000 more in rent, as approved by the county. Auld said annual rent was around $280,000, bringing that amount up to roughly $294,000.
In a social media post from the library, Pittman is quoted as saying Discoveries is one of the library’s most-popular branches.
Institutions like libraries moving into malls have become more common nationwide as market changes continue to force them to adapt.
3 positions for Maryland Corps
Inside the budget is a combined $102,000 for three Maryland Corps Service Program positions, a Gov. Wes Moore program giving high school graduates or GED recipients an eight-to-nine-month job assignment in the county while they figure out what they want to do for a career.
Auld says program employees have worked everywhere from circulation desks to the library’s headquarters.
“It helps these young people get their footing and start learning the world of work,” Auld said. “It’s been very helpful to have additional staff, [too].”
Though technically not an ongoing expense, the library asks for Maryland Corps positions every year.
The library has yet to experience any pressure from the federal government, and Auld doesn’t expect that to change.
“We are governed independently by a board of trustees,” he said, adding the board is established in Maryland code. “They are explicitly to be free from political influence. … Some counties have struggles with that, but in our case, we have a fantastic board.”
The library is also protected by the Freedom to Read Act, passed last year, that fights book censorship and banning.
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