08-05-2025
Ohio libraries win big Tuesday
Every single library levy on Tuesday's ballot passed in Ohio, and none of them were close.
The victories come as Republican officials at the state and federal level look at cutting library funding.
There were 13 levies on the ballot — eight renewals, two replacements, two new ones and a bond. The least successful of those — for the Delaware County District Library and the Troy-Miami County Public Library — passed with 56% of the vote.
The most successful, for the Gnadenhutten Public Library, received a whopping 85% of the vote. On average, voters agreed to pay local taxes to support their libraries by a 19-point margin.
'These results reflect the deep connection communities have with their libraries,' Michelle Francis, Executive Director of the Ohio Library Council, said in a written statement. 'They're a testament to the trust voters place in libraries, not only as centers for learning and literacy, but also as hubs for workforce development and digital access.'
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The results come as the budget proposed by the Republican-controlled Ohio House would spend almost $91 million less on public libraries than the draft proposed by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine.
In addition, the House budget would change library funding from a percentage of the state's general-revenue fund to a fixed line item. The library council has said that would increase the possibility that at some point it could be eliminated altogether.
At the federal level, the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency has proposed eliminating the Institute of Museum and Library Services. That grant-making agency has a budget of $290 million a year.
Earlier this month, a federal judge temporarily stopped an executive order by President Donald Trump to eliminate the institute after 21 state attorneys general sued to stop the order.
The institute provides funding for the State Library of Ohio, which has a brick-and-mortar location in Columbus. It supports summer learning programs, reading programs for the blind and deaf, and the Ohio Digital Library, which helps local libraries provide audio and e-books.
Polling shows that public libraries are highly popular with a huge, bipartisan swath of Americans. A 2022 poll was conducted by Hart Research Associates and North Star Opinion Research on behalf of the American Library Association. It found that 89% of respondents agreed that 'local public libraries play an important role in communities across the country including their own.'
In addition, 75% of Democrats, 70% of Republicans and 56% of independents said they oppose the removal of books from public libraries.
'Public support is loud and clear,' said Francis of the Ohio Library Council. 'We hope state leaders recognize how much their constituents rely on library services.'
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