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During this year’s budget season, San Diego Public Library advocates were needed more than ever, and we made a difference in a contentious budget season.

Our voices were heard, and our elected officials approved a Fiscal Year 2026 Budget, which restores Monday hours at 16 of the City’s 37 branches but leaves the Sunday library closures in place.

Starting July 1, 2025, all SDPL locations will be open Monday through Saturday and closed on Sundays. We know this represents a significant change for many families and community members who rely on Sunday library access.

Monday hours will be changing after the summer, with 16 SDPL locations remaining open on Mondays. We’ll share more details as they become available.

We are grateful for the thousands of advocates who spoke up and shared personal stories about the importance of library access to their communities. Libraries, in alliance with parks, recreation centers, and the arts, are vital to support and strengthen San Diego.

We know that reduced hours impact a community’s access to the resources, programs, and safe spaces – a few of the elements that make libraries so essential. This is exactly why the Library Foundation will continue to advocate for consistent, robust funding to serve all San Diego communities.

Together, we can work toward a future where all San Diego residents have the library access they deserve.

Please take a moment to email our city leaders to express our gratitude for hearing our voices!

Over the last twenty years, the San Diego Public Library has lost over $640M in City funding during the budgeting process.

In March 2025, Executive Order 14238 cut federal funds to public libraries across the U.S., including the San Diego Public Library. These funds support various programs for San Diegans, including youth training and career development, adult literacy programs, and entrepreneur and workforce development programs.

Additionally, the San Diego Public Library’s per-capita operating budget is less than 70 percent of the California state average, and well behind many of its urban library peers with a books, materials, and e‑resources budget of more than $7.4 million (in FY2025), San Diego County spends 3.5 times more on their library’s resources than the City of San Diego, SDPL’s security spending is larger than its materials budget, and the City’s Public Library Department has over $50 million in deferred maintenance issues and no maintenance budget to address them.