EveryLibrary 2025 Impact Report: Wins in library elections and national advocacy efforts
EveryLibrary, the national 501c4 political action committee for libraries, has released its 2025 Annual Impact Report detailing the organization’s national, state, and local efforts to defend the right to read, support sustainable library funding, and strengthen public access to information.
The report outlines efforts to support local library ballot measures, campaigns to return books to shelves, and legislative activity tied to the right to read, while also documenting the broader policy and political environment affecting libraries nationwide.
In the report’s Letter from the Executive Director, EveryLibrary Co-Founder and Executive Director John Chrastka described the organization’s core focus during 2025.
“Throughout these challenges and in pursuit of new opportunities, we have remained consistent in our focus on the Constitution and the rule of law,” Chrastka wrote.
Election wins and public library funding
In 2025, EveryLibrary reported involvement in 10 library ballot measures across nine communities, winning eight campaigns. The organization reported that these election wins secured over $3.8 million in new and renewed annual funding for library operations, collections, services, and staffing.
The annual report also cites local outcomes connected to ballot measure results, including the removal of a city council-imposed censorship panel and approval for a new library facility to be built.
EveryLibrary reported long-term results since its founding in 2012, stating that it has helped 155 communities with public library ballot measures, winning 85 percent of campaigns and helping secure over $3 billion in stable tax funding for libraries.
Fight for the First organizing and anti-censorship campaigns
The annual report highlights EveryLibrary’s Fight for the First campaigns, which support local organizing efforts related to book bans and censorship, including work aimed at restoring access to challenged collections.
In 2025, the report states that Fight for the First supported 140 petitions in schools and public libraries and worked with 2,100 local organizers. The report states 52,300 people were activated for local campaigns, 1,749 attended in-person rallies and events, and 112,300 messages were sent to school boards, library boards, city councils and county commissions.
Legislative outcomes and national engagement
The annual report also details policy outcomes and advocacy engagement at the state and federal levels.
In 2025, EveryLibrary reported helping write, advance, and pass new Right to Read legislation in Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, and Rhode Island. In addition, EveryLibrary campaigned to secure gubernatorial vetoes of anti-access legislation in New Hampshire and North Dakota.
The report states that EveryLibrary’s advocacy campaigns drove large-scale constituent action, including outreach to Congress, governors, and state legislators.
“We activated over half a million Americans to send messages to Congress opposing the Trump Project 2025 agenda, as well as to their state legislators and governors, urging them to protect libraries, safeguard reading, and restore funding,” Chrastka wrote.
EveryLibrary reported that its national organizing reach expanded in 2025, adding 175,000 people to its advocacy voter file for a total of 575,000 engaged activists and advocates.
2026 outlook
The annual report frames 2026 as a pivotal year for libraries and reading nationwide, pointing to the national political environment, ongoing state and local policy battles, and the 2026 midterm elections as key factors that will shape library funding and public access to information.
“We have a choice to make as a country this year, and I want to make sure that EveryLibrary is involved in educating and activating the public about what we believe,” Chrastka wrote.
EveryLibrary is encouraging library supporters nationwide to get involved in 2026 efforts to defend the right to read and strengthen sustainable funding for libraries by volunteering, contributing, and partnering in support of ongoing local, state, and national campaigns.
More information is available at https://www.everylibrary.org/2025_impact_report.
EveryLibrary is a 501c4 nonprofit dedicated to defending the First Amendment rights of library users across the United States. The organization works to ensure that public libraries remain open, accessible, and inclusive for all by providing advocacy and education campaigns, legal resources, and research initiatives.