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Columbus
Dispatch…
State budget is a sad
story for small libraries
Institutions without local levies bracing for cutbacks
By Dean Narciso
Thursday, March 17, 2011
For the roughly 40 percent of Ohio's public libraries that are funded
almost entirely by state revenue, any cuts are troubling.
Five-percent reductions in state funding for public libraries in each
of the next two years might seem modest when compared with the 25
percent annual cuts that local governments face under Gov. John
Kasich's proposed budget. But librarians note that their cuts follow
much-deeper ones - upward of 40 percent - since 2007.
"Five percent doesn't sound like much, but when you consider that we've
already been cut drastically, you have to find less-expensive ways to
operate and purchase what you need," said Sharon Morgan, assistant
director of the Mount Sterling Library. "Doing with less is great, but
there's only so much less you can do with. Older people enjoy reading,
and children need to read."
Voters in the southern Madison County village rejected a first-ever
levy request five years ago and another a year later. It appears the
library will be forced to try again.
The library operates on a $197,000 annual budget, almost all of it from
the state.
With almost $20,000 less to spend over two years, acquiring new
materials and making payroll are top priorities. The library has been
closed Sundays and Wednesdays to help out.
In an Ohio Library Council poll conducted last year, public libraries
"were rated as one of most-efficient uses of public money," said
director Doug Evans.
But other library officials say that even if they are supported by
local taxes, they can barely keep up with the cuts in this and previous
state budgets.
"I think we clearly took a larger hit than almost anyone during the
last biennial budget," said Don Barlow, director of the Westerville
Public Library, which plans to seek a replacement levy this fall with a
higher millage.
Westerville's last levy, passed in 2007, brought in $2 million a year.
But state cuts since then have eaten away $1.6 million. "It's hard to
keep up with that," Barlow said.
Westerville libraries are closed on Sundays, and officials have reduced
staffing and materials purchases. If a levy is approved in November,
those cuts will be reversed and there will be money for building
upgrades and more parking at the popular State Street location.
But for 95 of the state's 251 public libraries that have no local
levies, there is little cushion for the coming cutbacks.
"It's very important that we have libraries in these communities,
especially where the unemployment is so high," said Gary Branson,
director of Marion Public Library.
Residents "expect these things to be here. But it takes money. The
materials don't magically appear on our shelves."
At the Alexandria Public Library in rural Licking County, Director
Denise Shedloski has dipped into a rainy-day fund the past three years
to meet operating expenses.
The library expects to spend about $270,000 next year. Over two years,
it stands to lose about $25,800 because of the state cuts, she said.
"That's about half of our yearly budget for books," Shedloski said.
The library already has reduced staff, operating hours and materials by
a third. Employees have no benefits and had their pay frozen.
Still, Shedloski is grateful the governor considered the previous cuts.
"We'll make do. We'll keep plugging along," she said. "If we close, our
community will be really hurt. ... We're doing everything we can to
make sure that doesn't happen."
Read it at the Columbus Dispatch
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