An Estimated 61% of U.S. Public Library Buildings (9,800 Facilities) Have at Least One Health or Safety Concern, with 70% Carrying Deferred Maintenance Backlogs

A December 2025 GAO report surveying approximately 16,400 public libraries found that an estimated 6,200 libraries (39%) have deferred maintenance backlogs exceeding $100,000 each, with 70% of all libraries expecting their backlogs to persist or increase over the next three years. About 2,700 libraries operate in buildings constructed before 1924, and approximately 7,000 report physical barriers to disability access. Why it matters: deteriorating HVAC systems, asbestos, and structural failures create unsafe conditions for the roughly 1.3 billion annual library visits in the United States, so libraries must divert operating budgets to emergency repairs rather than collections and programming, so patron experience degrades and usage declines in precisely the communities that need library services most, so the resulting cycle of declining usage and declining investment makes it harder to pass bond measures or secure capital funding, so public libraries in low-income and rural areas face existential threats from infrastructure failure alone. The structural root cause is that public library capital funding depends primarily on local property taxes and bond measures, which systematically disadvantage communities with lower property values, while no federal capital program exists specifically for library construction or renovation.