Report: “Ohio Libraries Bracing For Tough Choices as State Funding Revenue Continues to Dip”

From Ohio Capital Journal:

With state revenues not meeting projections as hoped, library systems are making choices about programs and staffing, and even cutting hours to make ends meet.

“This isn’t something that’s going to be impacting us a year from now,” said Michelle Francis, executive director of the Ohio Library Council. “It’s going to have immediate effects.”

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In 2008, the Public Library Fund sat at $450.6 million. It has been below that number ever since, with it’s biggest dip in 2012, when the PLF dropped 23.6% from the 2008 base number.

In 2022, the PLF distribution was $208.5 million. The fund dropped again in 2023, to $205.2 million. Current numbers reported by the Ohio Library Council show the 2024 year-to-date distribution at $187.5 million.

While the OLC and local libraries are grateful for state funding, because of a 1970s-era state law, libraries don’t see inflationary growth on the millage they receive from property tax levies, and the state does not provide facilities funding for libraries either, meaning maintenance has been deferred sometimes for decades.

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Filed under: Funding, Libraries, News, Public Libraries