From WOOD COUNTY DISTRICT PUBLIC LIBRARY
In early 2016, the Ohio Library Council commissioned a report titled “The Return on Investment of Ohio’s Public Libraries and a Comparison with Other States” by Howard Fleeter and Associates from Columbus. This report found that “public library services in Ohio are worth nearly $2.7 billion in direct economic value.”
The Woodlink Libraries, a collaborative effort of the eight independent public library systems in Wood County, recently used a 2025 update to the Return on Investment (ROI) formula from the Ohio Library Council with local 2025 data. The following statistics are when the eight Woodlink Libraries are considered as a whole.
In 2025, the total direct ROI for Woodlink was $3.53 in benefit for each $1 invested in library operations, or $10,193,127 invested in local libraries yielded a direct ROI of $35,986,783.
When economic multiplier effects are included, each $1 invested into Woodlink library operations returned a total economic value of $4.65 to Wood County, or $10,193,127 invested in 2025 yielded a total economic value of $47,362,205.
The Woodlink Libraries are proud to serve the citizens of Wood County. The libraries are: Kaubisch Memorial Public Library in Fostoria, North Baltimore Public Library, Pemberville Public Library, Rossford Public Library, Way Public Library in Perrysburg, Wayne Public Library, Weston Public Library, and the Wood County District Public Library in Bowling Green.
