NORWICH, Conn. (AP) — The U.S. State Department has ordered some public libraries nationwide to stop processing passport applications, disrupting a long-running service that librarians say their communities have relied on for years to run smoothly.
The agency, which oversees U.S. passports, began issuing cease-and-desist orders to nonprofit libraries in late fall, notifying them that they were no longer authorized to participate in the Passport Acceptance Facility Program as of Friday.
“We still get calls every day asking for this service,” said Cathleen Special, executive director of the Otis Library in Norwich, Conn. The library had offered passport services for 18 years but discontinued them in November after receiving the letter. “Our community is used to us providing this service.”
A State Department spokesman said the order was issued because federal law and regulations “clearly prohibit nongovernmental organizations” from charging and withholding passport application fees. Government-run libraries are not affected.
The spokesperson did not answer questions about why it is now an issue and exactly how many libraries are affected by the cease-and-desist order. “Passport Services has more than 7,500 acceptance facilities nationwide, and the number of libraries found to be ineligible is less than one percent of our total network,” they said in a statement.
The American Library Association estimates that about 1,400 public libraries (mostly nonprofit) nationwide, or about 15% of all public libraries, could be affected, depending on how many libraries offer passport services.
Democratic and Republican members of Congress from Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Maryland are fighting back, sending a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio this month asking him to extend the existing program until Congress can find a permanent solution.
“In an era when passport demand is surging, libraries are one of the most convenient passport processing facilities, especially for working families and rural residents,” the members wrote.
When demand surges due to REAL ID requirements, people will have to travel long distances, take unpaid leave or forego getting their passports, the lawmakers said in the letter. If congressional Republicans implement strict new voting rules, citizens may need a passport or birth certificate to register. There are concerns that immigration agents are also increasingly carrying passports to confirm their citizenship.
They said the change would be particularly disruptive in their states, where many public libraries are nonprofit entities. They predict that some libraries that profit from passport processing fees will have to lay off staff, cut programs or close their doors if they are not allowed to continue providing passport services.
Public libraries are organized differently in each state. In Pennsylvania, 85 percent of public libraries are nonprofit organizations rather than a department of local municipal governments. In Maine, it’s 56%; in Rhode Island, it’s 54%, in New York, 47%, and in Connecticut, 46%, according to the American Library Association.
Pennsylvania Reps. Madeleine Dean (Democrat) and John Joyce (Republican) have introduced bipartisan legislation to amend the Passport Act of 1920 to allow 501(c)(3) nonprofit public libraries to continue to serve as passport acceptance facilities. A similar companion bill is pending in the Senate.
Dean, who first learned of the policy change from a library in her area that has provided passport services for 20 years, called the State Department’s interpretation of the law “nonsense.”
Located in Joyce’s rural south-central Pennsylvania region, the Marysville-Rye library is one of only two passport facilities serving 556 square miles of Perry County, according to the letter to Rubio. Now, county court will be the only remaining option.
The U.S. Department of State states that 99% of Americans live within 20 miles of a designated passport processing location, such as a post office, county clerk’s office, or a government-run library authorized to accept in-person passport applications.
“If the removal of substandard facilities affects passport services, we will work to find new qualified project partners in the affected areas,” an agency spokesman said.
But in particular, Norwich Post Office often refers people to her library to collect their passports when someone needs services outside of normal hours, or when children need to be cared for and entertained while parents fill out paperwork. Library staff also provide assistance to applicants with language barriers.
“Now the weight of all this is on them, and it’s hard on them,” she said of the post office down the street. “To be honest, I don’t know how they keep up because it’s such a popular service for us.”
