Ohio libraries are on the ballot again in November, hoping for up-to-date or continued support from their communities, in the form of fees that make up a larger share of their programming, construction and materials budgets.
“We call it money keeping the lights on,” said Aimee Fifarek, director and CEO of the Youngstown and Mahoning County Public Library.
The 14-branch network is one of 27 Ohio public library systems will have resources in the November general election. According to the Ohio Library Council, these issues include four additional or up-to-date levies, one post-increase renewal, one post-increase transfer, five basic replacement levies and one bond issue.
Funding requests range from Forest-Jackson Public Library and Milton-Union Public Library’s 0.7 million levy to Youngstown’s 2.4 million levy. The Toledo Lucas County Library District is seeking a 30-year, $153 million bond.
Youngstown and Mahoning County branch libraries are located in many regions of the state, from communities that depended on the GM plant in Lordstown for their livelihoods to affluent Poland and the Appalachian village of Sebring. Helping revitalize the community through nutrition programs, literacy projects, job training opportunities and the public library’s other roles reinforce Fifarek’s confidence that the area will recover.
“We’re not growing right now and we haven’t been growing in a long time, but we have incredible potential here and we’re getting to the point where there’s enough faith in our community … to make something happen,” Fifarek said.
Nearly half of the costs of the programs and facilities the library uses come directly from property owners: According to the library, 46% of the library’s budget comes from the $2.4 million renewal fee collected in November.
The tax has been in effect since 2019 and costs homeowners $7 a month for every $100,000 in property value, which works out to about $10 million a year.
The money the library hopes to retain as part of the five-year renewal fee will aid support its mobile “pop-up library,” tailored programs at each of its library branches, and the future that may come after the facility’s strategic master plan is adopted , studying housing areas, broadband availability and other issues to see where the library could direct funds, Fifarek told OCJ.
The remaining vast portion of the library system’s budget, 49%, comes from the state’s Revenue Fund through the Public Library Fund.
But libraries across the state have struggled to account for losses in these funds, prompting some to demand higher fees and others to make cuts over the years. According to the Ohio Council of Libraries, the Public Library Fund has had a year-to-date loss of $25 million since September 2024, continuing a trend since 2022, when the year-to-date loss was more than 5%, or $20 million.
Funds going to public libraries could also face greater threats if legislation introduced in June is passed before the General Assembly ends its term in December. Republican State Rep. Al Cutrona’s House Bill 622 would strip state funding from any public library that displays content deemed “harmful to minors” under the state’s broad definition.
The Granville Public Library has felt the impact of the loss of PLF funding while seeing the cost of goods and services boost year over year. These changes in funding and costs have highlighted the importance of community support in the form of a fee, according to Granville Library Director Emily Shellhouse.
“If we didn’t have this fee, we would have to make some pretty significant cuts to services, which would likely include shortening the days we’re open, reducing programs and reducing our materials budget,” Shellhouse said.
The library serves approximately 15,000 people and is within the same boundaries as the local school district and often provides a space for students to study or go out after school. Their children’s department is constantly energetic and they have introduced changes that seem basic, but have the same added value as changing technology and materials.
“One of the things we needed were plugs, people needed to charge their devices,” Shellhouse said.
The library in the heart of the central Ohio village currently charges 1 million books, which is about 40% of the library’s budget. Even maintaining the fee at PLN 1 million would mean that “we would have to tighten our belts,” said the director.
Fortunately, the community has shown its support in the past, which Shellhouse said will include a 1.25 mill renovation and an boost that is expected to go to voters in November.
“We have a lot of support for maintaining the library and we want it to stay in the community,” she said.
The future of the library means evolving technology and reaching out to the community, perhaps more mobile library services and further services for people such as those who are homebound and in care homes.
“The needs of our community have changed,” Shellhouse said. “It’s harder for some people to get into the library, so we want to expand our reach, maybe provide our own space.”
Some libraries have already asked voters to introduce fees March primary schooland five of the seven libraries received approval. All approvals received approval ratings of 57% or more.
