This amounts to flat or slightly increased funding for Ohio libraries.
Ohio’s Public Library Fund is expected to disperse $495 million to $500 million this year, according to Ohio Budget and Management estimates provided to this news outlet Wednesday. The fund paid out $489.3 million last year.
Even with the House’s concessions, the two-year funding proposal still falls $90.8 million short of the estimated totals libraries would receive under Gov. Mike DeWine’s original budget plan.
“This gap is concerning, as it directly impacts the ability of libraries to continue providing essential services that benefit all Ohioans,” said Michelle Francis, executive director of the Ohio Library Council. “Every two years, we engage in this process to defend the Public Library Fund, advocating for the percentage allocated to libraries as well as highlighting the significant value and savings libraries provide to taxpayers.”
The biggest change is how the library fund is set. Currently, the Public Library Fund receives 1.7% of Ohio’s general revenue fund, which is powered by sales and personal income taxes and other revenue sources. So it’s a fluctuating funding source, and actual revenues can fall short of projections.
This fiscal year, for example, the fund was initially expected to bring in $530 million but fell far short.
Republican lawmakers now want to fund libraries by setting specific dollar amounts, not by automatically setting aside a slice of the state’s general revenue every year.
Dayton Metro Library officials recently said that reducing library funding below current projections could result in decreased operating hours, programming, library collections and even the closure of some lower-traffic branches.
Dayton Metro Library posted a message to Facebook Thursday thanking supporters for contacting state legislators. “We are examining the full impact of the state’s funding commitment to libraries and will share our plans to continue to deliver Library services throughout Montgomery County very soon,” the message says.
The Ohio Library Council vowed to keep fighting for library funding in the Ohio Senate, where the state budget will proceed after passage in the House Wednesday.
