Funding for your local library

Earlier this spring, we celebrated National Library Week with some behind-the-scenes videos. If you missed them, they are still available on our YouTube channel, Findlay Library. One important piece of behind-the-scenes work Ohio's libraries complete that wasn't discussed is advocacy. Ohio's public libraries have a long history of funding at the state level. Starting with the Library and Local Government Fund, and now under the Public Library Fund (PLF), public libraries receive a percentage of the state's general tax revenue. This funding model causes natural fluctuations as the state tax revenue grows and contracts. Many libraries in Ohio, like the Findlay-Hancock County Public Library, receive local support as well, in the form of operating levies. The challenge for public libraries is the fluctuation in the percent that they receive. In 2008, libraries received 2.22% of the general tax revenue. For the current state budget, libraries receive 1.7%. Unless there are changes to the proposed state budget, that percentage will end June 30, reverting libraries to the 1.66% found in permanent law. Advocating for library funding is really about advocating for our communities. Libraries are a great equalizer, providing access to safe spaces, enriching programs and a myriad of resources for all. In order to continue to provide that access, libraries must tell our communities' stories to state legislators. Our professional association, the Ohio Library Council (OLC), takes a big-picture approach. In recent testimony at the state house, Michelle Francis, OLC's executive director, shared that statewide circulation for digital resources increased 33% in 2020. Since public libraries pay up to five times more for e-books than traditional consumers, it is challenging to meet this demand for Ohio's 8.4 million public library cardholders. Locally, library directors and board of trustee members contact our senators and representatives to be sure they are aware of the resources their community has available at the library. We might share our annual reports, samples of library programs, the latest newsletter or local statistics. Thanks to a return on investment calculator developed by the OLC, I was able to share that FHCPL provides $3.75 in direct benefit-to-spending ratio to our community. Of late, libraries have also worked to ensure that state legislators are aware that Ohio's libraries are not receiving millions of dollars directly from the federal government through the American Rescue Plan Act. Instead, approximately $4.5 million will go to the state library to be distributed among all of the state's libraries, including academic libraries, K-12 school libraries, special libraries and public libraries via grants. With such a large pool of potential grantees, that $4.5 million won't go far. We appreciate the many ways our community shows support of the library. We'll continue to tell the story of your library use, through circulation statistics, program attendance, life goals met with the help of library resources, and those great pictures you of send of your kids enjoying library events. And we will continue to advocate for strong libraries for all Ohioans. Clevidence is director of the Findlay-Hancock County Public Library.