Library Happenings - October 2020

Hello Readers!

 

Well, I can’t use library time, computers, staff, or publications to campaign FOR ANY political candidate or cause. But I CAN share factual information, so that’s what I’m going to do.

 

Those of you living in the Massillon City School District and the Villages of Brewster and Navarre will see Issue 28 on your November ballot. Issue 28 is the five-year RENEWAL of Massillon Public Library’s current 2.9 mill, five-year renewal levy. This is the only operating levy that supports the Massillon Public Library. This renewal is not only NOT A NEW TAX, but will actually cost property owners LESS than you paid in the past five years. Taxes would be collected January 2022 through December 2026. The levy will generate approximately $1,318,351 annually for its life, and makes up 44% of our operating budget.

 

This might be more detail than most of you care about, but I’m often asked “where does the library get money to operate?” I just mentioned the levy. In addition to that, libraries in Ohio are allocated 1.68% of the state’s General Revenue Fund (income and sales tax collections) through the Public Library Fund (PLF), but that percentage decreases to 1.66% in July of 2021. The State allocates PLF funds to each county based on a distribution formula established in the 1980s. Then, the Stark County Budget Commission apportions the share of each library in the county according to a usage formula agreed upon by all seven library boards, which is currently based on the following categories -- circulation; square footage; population plus cardholders; number of FTE (staff); door count plus website visits; and the amount spent on materials and technology. Of the PLF money distributed in Stark County, approximately 11% supports the Massillon Public Library.

 

Because of cuts since 2009, Ohio’s public libraries are currently funded from state dollars at the same level as 1997. All told, the PLF funding has experienced a 26% decrease in the last twenty years. Next year’s budget brings the worry of additional decreases due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its statewide impact on sales and income tax collections. In 2004, only 73 of Ohio’s 251 public libraries had local operating levies. By 2020, 201 public libraries must rely on local dollars through operating levies. The local dollars have made the difference in keeping libraries open. Other small sources of revenue for our library include - overdue fines and fees for lost materials (approximately $12,000 per year); and, grants and donations (an unpredictable revenue; some are earmarked for certain projects, like capital improvements).

 

I hope this gives you the facts you need to make an informed decision at the polls, but I would of course welcome any of your questions at:

 

brownsh@massillonlibrary.org or 330-832-9831, x314.

 

Sherie Brown, Director

 

 

P.S. -- I HAVE to sneak in a few book recommendations! From my continuing historical fiction kick, I am engrossed in Christina Baker Kline’s The Exiles about a shamed young woman sent to the penal colony in Australia---another winner from the author of Orphan Train. And although we’re all overwhelmed with partisan politics, I’m loving Kate Andersen Brower’s light and gossipy Team of Five about the relationships among the most recent former US Presidents. Which POTUS is considered such a know-it-all that the others would plan events knowing he would be out of town? Which president and his wife used to sit by an open window in the White House for an evening cigar (him) and cigarette (her?) Shades of House of Cards, but it’s not the ones you’re guessing! I wasn’t familiar with Brower, but she spent four years covering the Obama White House for Bloomberg News and is a former CBS News staffer and Fox News producer, and has impeccable sources and an insider status. Now I want to find her previous best-sellers about The Residence and The First Women. Enjoy whatever you’re reading or watching as summer turns to fall!

 

 

Download the entire October newsletter.