BY SUSAN TEBBEN
The main source of state funding for Ohio’s public libraries was eliminated in the House draft of the state operating budget for the next two years.
Library advocates say the changes are not in the best interest of Ohioans and could cut services from an area that is still reeling from $27 million in cuts to state funding last year.
The cuts from 2024 put them at the same funding level as they received 25 years ago, despite vastly different technology needs, social service roles, and demand for services.
The Ohio House’s budget draft rejects Gov. Mike DeWine’s executive proposal that would have increased the Public Library Fund from 1.7% to 1.75% of the tax revenue collected in the state’s General Revenue Fund.
Instead, the House version of the budget “establishes a new method of funding public libraries through a direct GRF appropriation,” according to documents.
Distribution of funds would move from the Ohio Department of Taxation to the Ohio Office of Budget and Management, where a new funding formula would send the funding to counties “in proportion to each county’s population,” the budget draft states.
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An analysis of the changes in the House proposal by the Ohio Library Council shows state funding would drop by more than $100 million over the biennium compared to what DeWine proposed.
Under the House version, public libraries in 39 counties would see funding cuts via the new distribution formula as soon as the budget is enacted, which is set to happen on July 1.
“Ohio’s public libraries have had a partnership with the state to deliver services at the local level for almost 100 years and that funding is now at risk,” said Michelle Francis, executive director of the Ohio Library Council, in a statement on the House proposal. “Public libraries serve all ages, and funding cuts of this magnitude could jeopardize the vital services that our communities rely on.”
Libraries have not only been sources of reading materials and literacy programs, but over the years have evolved into resources tailored to their areas, with food assistance programs, tax preparation, job training, and employment help. The materials that libraries house have changed as well, with physical materials joined by digital products and broadband access.
A gradual reduction in the Public Library Fund over the decades has created struggles for public libraries, and the need to tap residents for help in the form of property tax levies.
‘This is censorship’
While potentially cutting public library funding even more, the House version of the budget also asks them to create a new system of shielding certain materials provided by the libraries.
The new budget proposal inserted a provision not included in DeWine’s executive budget, one that would require public libraries to place “material related to sexual orientation or gender identity or expression” in a part of the library that “is not primarily open to the view of minors.”
LGBTQ+ advocacy organization Equality Ohio released a statement strongly opposing the budget proposal as a whole, calling it “the most reckless bill to come out of the Ohio legislature,” including the provision on public library materials.
“Let’s be clear: No public funds should be weaponized to dismantle our rights or erase our existence,” said Dwayne Steward, executive director of Equality Ohio in a statement. “This is censorship. This is harm. And we must resist – together, for a future where every young person can see themselves and their families reflected in their libraries, their schools and their communities.”
Libraries are now also fighting battles on the federal level, where the Institute for Museum and Library Services was threatened with major cuts, and where staff at the agency have been placed on administrative leave as the Trump administration attempts funding cuts all over the federal government.
This funding impacts the State Library of Ohio, which conserves documents connected to the founding and development of Ohio, and works with public libraries in the state on resource-sharing agreements.
An email sent to the State Library of Ohio from the institute on March 31 notified the agency about the administrative leave, also noting that the employees would not be able to respond to emails or provide any information about “future timelines related to this action.”
The Ohio Senate has yet to produce its draft, with which the House draft will need to be merged before a final draft is sent to DeWine for his signature
