Library aid would be cut by $227 million over two years

Norman Oder — Library Journal, 6/19/2009

• $3.2 billion budget gap
• Libraries’ cut significant
• 11 days to agree on budget

Trying to close a $3.2 billion gap by June 30, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland today proposed “resiz[ing] state government in line with the shrinking economy,” prioritizing “extremely limited resources toward critical health and safety service,” and—though not saying so in his speech—severely cutting library aid.

Libraries in Ohio uniquely rely on state aid, rather than predominantly on local support. They are funded through 2.22% of the state’s total general tax revenue.

Just before Strickland’s press conference, his budget director told Lynda Murray of the Ohio Library Council (OLC) that the proposal would cut the Public Library Fund by $227.3 million—nearly 50 percent—over the biennium budget. “I do not believe that many of our library systems, especially those without local levys, can remain open with those cuts,” commented Murray, in a message circulated on the American Library Association Council electronic mailing list.

To read the rest of the article, visit the Library Journal website, here.