Ohioans Approve 86% of Library Levies

May 5, 2010

Voters in Ohio turned out in overwhelming support of their public libraries at primary ballot boxes May 4, the Ohio Library Council reported May 5.

Out of a total of 29 public library levy issues (PDF file), 25 were approved—18 of which were first-time requests. Library officials sought the additional funding to mitigate an 18% cut in state aid in FY2010 and an anticipated reduction of up to 10% more for FY2011. “We are absolutely thrilled,” Licking County Library Director Steven Hawk said in the May 5 Newark Advocate about the passage by 51% of voters of the library’s first-ever operating levy in its 100-year history.

With several hundred votes to spare, supporters of the Grafton-Midview Library System passed a 1.25-mill levy six months after the measure was defeated in November 2009. “We expect over time that we will return to normal service hours and begin to adjust our budget for materials and support for other services,” board President Ed Greenwald said in the May 5 Lisbon Morning Journal. The November defeat had forced officials to halve the library’s 60-hour service week, eliminate teen programming, and cut back on adult and children’s programs.

Among the libraries that didn’t fare well is the Homer Library, which lost a five-year, one-mill operating levy by 65 votes. “I can’t say right now what we will do, but we have to cut expenses,” library Director Chet Geiger told the Advocate, acknowledging that service-hour reductions would be eyed since the acquisitions budget has already been reduced.

The overall good news follows a hard-fought battle last summer to minimize the effects of the economic downturn on funding for library services.

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