‘Yes’ on library  tax levy in May

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12:42 PM Friday, April 2, 2010

The state’s budget crisis has been particularly rough on public libraries across Ohio. Libraries are largely funded from the state’s public library fund and, as state revenues have declined and state lawmakers have looked for ways to balance Ohio’s budget, funding for libraries has been reduced.

Like many other libraries in Ohio, the Hamilton-based Lane Libraries — which include the facilities in Hamilton, Fairfield and Oxford — have been adversely affected by these funding drops.

The state funding crisis is essentially shifting the burden for local libraries to the communities they serve. Lane’s state funding dropped $1.1 million in 2009 from 2008, forcing painful reductions in the size of the library staff, operating hours and services.

As a consequence, libraries across Ohio are turning to local voters with tax levies to compensate for the budget reductions and to preserve vital services provided for library patrons. In this respect, Lane is also no exception.

On May 4, voters in the area served by Lane Libraries — the school districts of Hamilton, Fairfield, New Miami, Ross and Talawanda, as well as portions of the Edgewood School District — will be asked to approve a 0.75-mill levy that would run for five years and would generate $2.58 million each year. It’s the first operating levy in the library system’s history and would be used, according to library officials, to protect current services as state revenues continue to decline; expand hours of operation that previously were reduced; add new materials to the system’s collection; and enhance technology and Internet access.

For the owner of a $100,000 home, the levy would cost nearly $23 annually, officials have estimated. We believe that most would agree that is a small sum when compared to the priceless and vital services that Lane Libraries provide in our communities.

Today’s public libraries are so much more than collections of books. They provide knowledge and entertainment in a variety of media, offering students a place to do research for school, providing access to the Internet for job-hunters and others who aren’t online at home (including wi-fi hot spots), access to various databases, online access to the library’s collection, and a variety of educational programs for children, teens and adults. This isn’t your grandfather’s library that we’re talking about.

In fact, about 155,000 area residents have Lane Libraries cards — enabling them to check out books and other materials — and we’re sure many thousands more avail themselves of resources that don’t require card membership. We think those numbers bode well for the May 4 tax levy.

We trust that voters believe — as we do — that our public libraries are invaluable and indispensable parts of our communities. It’s difficult to imagine our communities without the full-service libraries that we’ve come to expect. But Ohio libraries’ state revenue has already dropped 18.6 percent during the first quarter of 2010 so the trend is ominous.

Voters in the Lane Libraries service area can come to the rescue and stabilize the library system here by voting for a modest tax increase on May 4. We give our full and enthusiastic endorsement to the Lane Libraries operating tax levy.

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