Local libraries face potential funding instability with the new two-year state budget
By: Talia Milewich
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) – One change in the newly signed state budget bill could make funding less stable for public libraries.
Legislators say the change shouldn’t make much of a difference, but to the Athens public libraries it does. “Any future Legislature or even governor could, with the stroke of a pen, eliminate our funding,” Nick Tepe, director of Athens County Public Libraries, said.
Tepe says this makes it difficult to make long-term plans for the libraries as this reduces the predictability of their funding. Around half of ACPL’s total budget comes from the public library fund.
The fund has received 1.7% of the general revenue fund, which was divided among all 251 public library systems in the state. Forty-eight of those library systems completely rely on those funds for operations.
But now this amount could change from one budget to the next. Even at the fixed amount, libraries were struggling to manage their operations, Tepe said.
“While our costs continue to go up just like everybody else’s, the state has basically kept us at the same level of funding as we were in the early 2000s,” he said. If this continues the libraries may have to eventually cut back and won’t be able to offer services at the level they currently are.
Without sufficient funding from the state, Tepe said, libraries will have to rely more on local property tax levies to continue to offer the same services and resources for patrons.
Another proposal in the budget bill would have added restrictions on the placement of books and other media related to sexual orientation or gender identity. Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed this item because of its vague language and the restrictions already in place.
Tepe said he is grateful the governor saw this wouldn’t be workable. “We were concerned with that language first because it really goes contrary to everything the library stands for,” he said. “We serve the entire community.”
Tepe said parents and guardians should be the ones in charge of what their children can and cannot see. “Our job is to provide materials for a wide range of viewpoints and then let the parents decide what the child should be interacting with at the library,” he said.