(File photo from Getty Images.)
New polls show Ohio voters view library services as “everyday things” and are among the highest-rated services offered locally.
The poll, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies on behalf of the Ohio Library Council and the Ohio Township Association, found that 90% of voters considered public libraries “important to the community.”
Voters praised access to all kinds of programs for Ohioans, as well as assistance for low-income residents, science, technology and engagement. Libraries, especially this time of year, also serve as resources for tax services.
“Ohioans not only appreciate their libraries, they rely on them every day,” Michelle Francis, executive director of the Ohio Library Council, said in a statement about the study. “They are locally supported, widely implemented and deeply rooted in their communities.”
Of those surveyed, 44% said they or a family member had used public library services in the past month, and almost 70% said they had received aid from a public library. That number included a majority of Republican, Democrat and independent voters, according to the report.
“Nearly 9 in 10 Ohio voters believe they benefit from local library services in return for the taxes they pay, including 83% of Republicans, 85% of independents and 93% of Democrats,” researchers found
Ohio Library Council data shows that Ohioans visit state libraries more than 48 million times a year, and more than 7 million Ohioans have library cards.
Ohio libraries receive a significant portion of their funding from the state’s Public Library Fund, which comes from the General Revenue Fund. In the latest state budget, legislators changed the financing mechanism from a percentage of ZUS tax revenues into a lump sum amount. That amounted to $490 million in state funds in fiscal year 2026 and $500 million in 2027. Library advocates, including the council, opposed moving to a lump sum, expressing concern that the item might be at greater risk of being eliminated entirely at any time because it does not represent a percentage of the budget.
The Ohio State Library has also made cuts to the state budget, according to State Librarian Mandy Knapp. SLO is not a public library, but works with other libraries in the state as a resource sharing partner and also provides grant funding. The fate of these grants was unclear last year when the Trump administration tried to cut funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services, through which the Ohio State Library receives local grant funds.
Knapp previously told the Capital Journal that grant funds are used for summer reading programs, cultural preservation efforts and implementing reading instruction in library programs.
In November a federal court blocked closing down the institute, preventing funding cuts that Knapp said would “completely and utterly devastate” the library.
The survey also analyzed public opinion about municipal services across the state and found that less than half of participants were familiar with the municipal financing model, which is funded primarily through property taxes. They also receive some state funding through the Local Government Fund, although this fund has declined over the years.
“Local government exists to provide the services residents count on most,” Heidi M. Fought, executive director of the Ohio Township Association, said in a statement. “Local funding allows communities to decide what is best for them.”
According to the County Commissioners Association of Ohio, after the Local Government Fund was frozen in 2001–2008, it returned to the state budget and was to receive 3.68% of tax revenues from the General Revenue Fund. The fund suffered severely during the Great Recession due to lower tax revenues, and lawmakers reduced the fund by 50% in the 2012–2013 budget.
In the 2014–2015 fiscal year, the fund reported 1.66% of tax revenues, well below 3.68% in 2008. The fund experienced marginal growth in the following years, eventually reaching 1.7% starting in 2023.
The most recent budget increased this fund to 1.75% of the GRF, even though advocates such as the County Commissioners Association of Ohio demanded that the Legislature restore the fund to its previous level with an enhance to 3.68%.
The extensive majority of voters surveyed in a recent study said local voters “should be responsible for making decisions about the allocation of city services.”
Voters said emergency services such as fire and ambulance services were among the top funding priorities, along with road and bridge maintenance and police.
The survey found that for both libraries and city services, more than half of voters said these two areas “provide many of the essential services that people use today.”
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