Recently, the New England Commission of Higher Education’s draft 2026 Accreditation Standards eliminate all references to libraries, librarians, and information resources. In the 2021 standards, libraries were recognized as essential to teaching, learning, research, institutional mission, and student success. In the 2026 draft, those terms are absent across the board.

EveryLibrary has drafted an analysis that makes the stakes clear:

• Without accreditation language, libraries shift from required infrastructure to optional amenities.
• Accreditation standards drive budgets. If libraries aren’t part of accreditation, institutions under financial pressure may close them or redirect funds elsewhere.
• Faculty governance and shared academic roles are at risk. Removing librarians from the definition of academic staff weakens their place in curricular design, assessment, and governance.

The public comment period is open until October 15, 2025, and NECHE will finalize the standards in December. Once libraries are erased from accreditation, regaining that ground will be far more difficult.

What you can do:

1. Read EveryLibrary’s analysis: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10MJW5k0sow-JDHby0f07LQ2XVuTIP9fWxs0_MaDnnKs/edit?tab=t.0
2. Submit a public comment: Standardsreview@neche.org
3. Share this with colleagues, faculty, students, and organizations that care about academic quality in New England.

 

Sample comment language you can adapt:

NECHE must restore explicit references to libraries, librarians, and information resources in the 2026 Accreditation Standards. The 2021 standards recognized them across multiple areas: as academic staff (6.2), as required institutional resources (7.22), as part of student learning outcomes (4.19), and as a key element of transparency and disclosure (9.20). Their removal undermines both academic quality and society’s broader commitment to equitable access to knowledge.

• Academic Staff (2021 Standard 6.2 → Draft 2.6): Librarians must be recognized as part of the academic workforce. Their teaching, advisory, and research roles are critical to student success and faculty scholarship.
• Institutional Resources (2021 Standard 7.22 → Draft 3.9): Accreditation must explicitly require library and information resources, services, facilities, and qualified staff. Without this anchor, institutions under financial pressure may close libraries or divert funds elsewhere.
• Educational Effectiveness (2021 Standard 4.19): Information literacy and mastery of resources must remain expected learning outcomes. Removing them devalues critical thinking and undermines students’ preparation for informed participation in society.
• Public Disclosure (2021 Standard 9.20 → Draft 5.3): Institutions must continue to disclose the library and information resources available to students. Removing this requirement reduces transparency and accountability.

 

Accreditation standards shape budgets, governance, and institutional priorities. If libraries are absent from NECHE’s framework, they risk being treated as optional rather than essential. This threatens not only the stability of campus libraries but also society’s recognition of libraries everywhere as vital infrastructure for education, equity, and democracy.

Libraries, librarians, and information resources must remain visible, valued, and required in NECHE accreditation standards.

You helped pass the RI Freedom to Read Act because you understand the importance of protecting core democratic and educational infrastructures when they are threatened. I hope you’ll lend your voices here, too.

Thank you for standing up once again for librarians, students, educators, and our communities.