Mahoning Valley library leaders advocate in Columbus to preserve funding
Fifteen representatives from Columbiana, Mahoning, Ashtabula and Trumbull counties’ Lake to River Library delegation joined 350 fellow library leaders in Columbus.
On April 8, the representatives met with legislators to encourage them against cutting library funding, giving voice to the tens of thousands of library supporters who reached out to their elected officials.
According to the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County, the public’s support for library funding produced some short-term success but “there’s much work to be done moving forward.”
Reacting to community pressure, leaders in the Ohio House of Representatives did pare down proposed cuts to library funding.
Aimee Fifarek, director and CEO of the PLYMC, said the House’s budget reduced her library’s funding from $1.35 million to around $90,000.
This funding from the PLF allows libraries to offer materials, programs and services community members need.
“I want to thank the tireless efforts of local supporters and patrons who reached out to their elected officials to help reduce these disastrous cuts to our funding,” said Fifarek.
While they appreciate the funding, it’s around $90.8 million short of what was in the original budget proposed by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
The House did still vote to change how funding comes into the Public Library Fund.
In the proposed budget, library funding won’t come from the General Revenue Fund, which representatives say presents a significant threat to library funding long-term.
Jim Wilkins is the director and fiscal officer at the Warren-Trumbull County Public Library.
“While we are pleased to see planned funding cuts reduced in the House Budget, the real threat long term is changing how we fund the PLF,” Wilkins said.
Rather than coming from the General Revenue Fund, Ohio libraries across the state would be funded through a flat-rate decided by legislators in the proposed budget.
For fiscal year 2026, the budget would allocate $490 million for all Ohio libraries; in 2027, it’ll be increased to $500 million.
The amount will be “subject to the whims of distant legislators in Columbus and not by those who actually use and need our services here at home,” according to Wilkins.
State Rep. Lauren McNally (D-Youngstown) voted against the proposed budget which passed in the Ohio House of Representatives.
“The governor gave us a decent budget as a starting point and instead of adding building blocks to that, we tore it all down,” she said.
Now the libraries around Ohio are calling upon elected officials to restore dedicated funding and expand the PLF from 1.7% of the General Revenue Fund to 1.75%.
Library leaders across the region ask their patrons and community leaders to reach out to their state Senators to fight for library funding and protect dedicated funding for public libraries in Ohio rather than a line-item appropriation.
“At best this budget is lazy governing and at worst it is political and ideology governing,” Rep. McNally continued. “Either way, we gave zero consideration to the everyday people this budget is supposed to help.”
