Lost connection: Wayland librarian explains how Trump’s federal cuts will affect her community

Cierra Bakovka, director of the Henika District Library in Wayland, worries about how her community—and others across Michigan—will be affected by recent federal cuts to libraries. 

One of the most critical infrastructure needs for rural communities in Michigan is affordable and accessible high-speed internet, according to state reports. 

“It’s not always because they can’t afford it, but sometimes service providers aren’t running lines to these communities,” said Cierra Bakovka, director of Henika District Library in Wayland, a rural city about half an hour’s drive south of Grand Rapids. 

Sparsely populated rural areas provide minimal financial incentive to companies deciding where to expand internet access, which creates barriers for rural Michiganders who work from home, use the internet for school and training, or generally want to stay connected. High-speed internet offers opportunities for residents, businesses, and local growth, according to Michigan’s Office of Rural Prosperity. 

To connect their community members with reliable internet access, in 2021 Henika District Library started loaning out something you might not expect to get at a library: mobile internet hotspots.

“We started loaning out mobile hotspots because a significant portion of our service population didn’t have reliable internet at home,” said Bakovka. 

“We started with 10 hotspots with unlimited data that were available for checkout for a week at a time.” 

The hotspots quickly developed an exceptionally long waitlist. 

So last year, Henika District Library doubled the available hotspots, after receiving a grant from the Library of Michigan, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The Institute of Museum and Library Services is an independent agency of the US federal government. 

“We just want people to feel connected and get the most out of their library,” said Bakovka. 

Pulling the plug

For people living in rural areas, having internet access isn’t a luxury—it’s a lifeline.

Studies have revealed that when rural counties have internet access, their local economy improves, which allows residents in the area to have more employment opportunities. Increased Internet access also allows rural residents better access to health care providers, which can lead to Michiganders living longer and happier lives. 

However, as public libraries and museums across the US come under fire from the Trump administration, they’re at risk of suffering yet another blow. In March, President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling for the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.  

Bakovka worries that the federal cuts will impact her community. 

“It is a possibility that we have to be more conservative in our budgeting in a way that could mean a drastic reduction in services, or flat out stopping programs altogether, such as hotspot lending,” she said.

In addition to losing funding, Bakovka is worried Michiganders could also lose access to the Michigan eLibrary (MeL), which has provided all Michigan residents with free access to online resources—from full-text articles and full-text books to tools and databases—for the past 20 years. 

“With MeL, people have more access to the information that they want, and they’re not necessarily limited to what their library can afford to provide,” said Bakovka. 

If the material is only available in physical form, MeL can send it to any Michigander’s local library at no cost, ensuring all residents have access to quality library materials no matter where they live. And it’s a popular service: In 2024, Michiganders accessed 19.2 million trusted online articles and journals through MeL, and over a million physical items were loaned out across the state. 

“What MeL has done for the past 20 years is provide service to broaden people’s horizons, broaden the resources that people have, and the access to these resources,” said Carol Dawe, director of the Lakeland Library Cooperative, which serves over 40 libraries across eight counties in West Michigan to deliver books, materials, and high-quality service to community members. 

Dawe agrees that, without funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Michigan’s rural libraries will be impacted the hardest.

“These are resources that individual libraries could not afford on their own. That’s why these services are so valuable,” said Dawe, adding that for every $1 spent on the MeL databases and catalogs, the return on investment is $27 and $25, respectively. 

“I want to make sure that that funding is still there so that we can keep broadening horizons and not limiting them.”

Don’t check out

While funding for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2025 (ending Sept. 2025) has been appropriated to the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the organization’s future and funding for libraries and programs across the US remain unclear. 

However, Bakovka believes not all hope is lost. She has faith in her community. 

“It falls to those community members to speak out in support of the library in those types of situations when it comes to funding,” she said.

Librarians and library advocates are urging Michiganders to take a stand by calling, writing, emailing, visiting, or sending a letter to local federal elected officials to let them know how cutting library funding will be detrimental to communities across the Great Lakes State. 

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has also joined a coalition of 20 other attorneys general in suing the Trump administration to stop dismantling federal agencies that provide services and funding to support public libraries, museums, and workers. 

“Once again, the President has signed an executive order that clearly oversteps the powers of his office, tramples the role of Congress in establishing and funding agencies, and commits unnecessary and potentially irreparable harms to Michiganders,” said Nessel in a press release.

“These agencies serve important roles, and their destruction could reshape whole communities. The absolute vitality of local public and school libraries to our children’s education and development just cannot be overstated, in addition to the countless other benefits a local library provides.”

While the fight is far from over, Bakovka says she does feel hopeful seeing so many folks fighting for libraries. 

“I’m grateful for so many people trying to stand up for libraries in whatever way they can.”

“As library workers, we know the library is there for our community. We’re on the front lines, and to see communities trying to be there for their library is very nice and encouraging. It makes us feel supported in what we’re doing.”