Dear Library Directors,
I wanted to contact you directly with some important news that may impact your library: As of May 1, 2025, the State Library will no longer offer email service to public libraries.
AtMail, the State Library’s vendor for email service, is currently used by 299 public libraries. We wanted to give plenty of notice for affected libraries to start planning and making arrangements to transition to a new service. We also wanted to share our reasons for making this big change.
First, we have been aware of and share your frustration with the ongoing technical issues from AtMail’s email service. We know your satisfaction with AtMail has been low and we do not want to renew the contract next year.
This past year has also brought up some difficult questions in regards to the handling of FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests. Because state and local government emails are considered public records, providing email service to libraries puts the State Library in the time consuming and potentially sensitive position of being in the middle between the city handling the FOIA request and the email service provider. Legally, these situations are best handled in their entirety by the city.
As we have shared before, the State Library began offering email service when it was tied to the first generation of PLOW library websites, in the early days of the internet. At the time, few libraries had email service or the staff expertise to set it up. Now, email is ubiquitous, and can be likened to phone or internet service, which the State Library does not subsidize for libraries. We are also not aware of any other state library agency that provides the same level of email service to public libraries on a statewide basis.
When we consider all of the above, we believe it makes the most sense for the State Library to get out of the business of providing email service to public libraries.
We want to support you through this change, and have gathered resources to help you work through the process and address any questions you may have. Your District LRT is also a resource available to you and can help answer any questions and offer support through the transition. Click the link and bookmark the webpage below:
I welcome your feedback and thoughts at Michael.Scott@iowa.gov. Thank you for your understanding.
Sincerely,
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