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Update: 07/16/2009 - On behalf of the entire GCPL family, thank you so much for telling our Legislators and Governor Strickland what your Library means to you. Because of your support, the State Budget passed by the Legislature had only an 11% additional cut for library funding, instead of the 30% that had been proposed by Governor Strickland. We specifically want to thank Representative Hackett, Representative Martin, and Senator Widener for their efforts on our behalf. What does this cut -- which comes on top of the 20% decline in funding we have already experienced in 2009 with a further 15% fall anticipated in 2010 -- mean for GCPL? Honestly, we are not sure yet because we are still getting the details of the budget from Columbus: but we do know a few things:
We will continue to share information with you as we know more. We may also call on you again if we need your help. Thank you again for your support from the bottom of our hearts: because of you, the Greene County Public Library will be up, running, and doing what we do best -- serving you. On a final note, I am proud to report that Greene County Public Library was named one of the Top 10 Libraries in the United States by the HALPR Library Rating Web Site: http://www.haplr-index.com/. We are a reflection of the community we live in, and your support has shown us that you are the tops, too! Sincerely, Karl Colón, Director Update: 07/14/2009 - The Ohio General Assembly's conference committee on the 2010-2011 state budget accepted a proposal to cut Ohio's Public Library Fund (PLF) $84.3 million over the next two years. The cut is substantially less than the approximate $227.3 million cut proposed by Gov. Ted Strickland on June 19 but will still have a significant impact on the services provided by Ohio's public libraries. Ohio's public libraries have the citizens of Ohio to thank for exerting extraordinary influence on their elected representatives in the Ohio General Assembly to minimize the cuts to library funding. We believe the overwhelming groundswell of public support convinced the legislature to reject the Governor's massive cuts, and attempt to preserve library funding as much as possible during this challenging financial situation. The budget cuts, combined with the precipitous drop in the PLF in the first six months of this year as a result of declining state tax revenues, will result in library funding dropping as much as 25-30% in 2009 as compared to calendar year 2008. The decreased funding comes at a time when Ohio's public libraries are experiencing an unprecedented increase in the demand for services. In July 2009, public libraries received 22% less funding than they received in July 2008. It is expected that based just on the formula, public libraries will likely receive close to 20% less money in 2009 than they did in 2008. Although Ohio's economy is faltering along with that of rest of the country, public libraries believed that they could withstand those reductions through layoffs, reduced material purchases, and reduction in operating hours. An additional cut of 11% will be difficult to manage by some libraries. This is a budget with which no one can be happy, but the Ohio library community appreciates the Ohio General Assembly's effort to restore $143 million to the Public Library Fund. This bill means that Ohio's public libraries will not face cuts that could have amounted to 50% of previous funding. However, depending upon the accuracy of the projections made by the Ohio Department of Taxation, libraries could still be looking at cuts that could be as much as 30%. Update: 06/25/2009 - We asked for your help and you overwhelmingly delivered. Thanks to you, the Library's voice is being heard concerning Ohio’s library funding crisis and Gov. Strickland's proposal to cut library funding. In these troubled times, Ohio's libraries stand ready to take our fair share of cuts, but the Governor's proposal would devastate our library system here at home, and throughout the state. Our local legislators are wonderfully supportive of libraries, and they've taken your voice straight to the Governor. We are not out of trouble yet, but thanks to you and our local legislators our concerns have been heard at the highest levels. We were originally told that the deadline would be July 1st, but the legislature may delay this by several weeks. We thank you for expressing your love for Ohio's libraries, and our legislators for their support -- we are so grateful for this help from the community we serve. Ohio Library Funding Emergency06/20/2009 As you have probably heard on the news, Governor Strickland has proposed a last minute change to the State Budget: he proposes to cut funding for Ohio's Libraries by an additional $100 million dollars a year for the next two years. Public libraries are a vital lifeline to job hunting information, education, and family fun in a down economy. Greene County Public Library receives 55% of its funding from the State of Ohio. This funding rises and falls with the State's income, and funding for libraries has already fallen dramatically in the current recession. If the Governor's new cut became permanent, it would devastate the services we provide to children, teens, adults, and seniors throughout Greene County. Under the Governor's proposal, the funding for Ohio's libraries would drop to nearly half of 2008 levels. The cost to the Greene County Public Library would be $2.2 million in 2009 and $3.5 million in 2010. The cut for this year would be in addition to the $3.3 million reduction the library is already facing because of declining state tax revenues. We have already absorbed large drops in state funding while working as hard as we can to not reduce services for our wonderful patrons. But, without this key state funding, we will have to make deep cuts in hours, eliminate services, and possibly even close branches. On behalf of the entire Greene County Public Library family, thank you for your help and support. Carol Graff, President Karl Colón, Director Additional Information & Resourceshttp://www.saveohiolibraries.com $2.4B in cuts to budget hit colleges, Ohio workers, libraries and the poor Ohio Libraries Facing Budget Cuts Ohio Governor Proposes Halving State Support; Many Libraries Could Close State budget cuts could close some libraries Strickland calls for a sea change on slots Governor proposes slots |