Placing a book on hold at the library is a common practice. Now, Ohio public libraries are the ones closely watching a hold in the Ohio Legislature on the state’s biennial budget.
Proposed cuts to the Public Library fund by House republicans rallied support for public libraries over the past week, especially after Gov. Mike DeWine’s original increase in public library funding was rejected, at odds with his party.
Public testimonies during National Library Week (April 6–12, 2025) successfully convinced House members to update the original proposal.
Now approved by the Ohio House Wednesday, the biennial budget, with the revision to funding for public libraries, proposes a set dollar amount every year instead of a percentage of the general revenue fund.
“It’s not a huge increase, it certainly does not keep up with all the inflation we’ve been seeing that all of our expenses take up, but at least it’s not a cut,” said Stacey Richardson, director of the Kent Free Library. “So we are thankful for that.”
In Kent, the Public Library Fund accounts for about 60% of the library’s annual operating budget. The state funding level for libraries remains unchanged from 25 years ago — with no adjustments for inflation either.
Lee Brooker visits the library multiple times a week.
“It’s obscene to me that they would even consider it [cutting funding from libraries],” Brooker said. “It’s one of the most valuable resources in the world.”
The Kent Free Library offers more than just books; it has an extensive digital library, from computers to streaming services.
Echoing the community’s concerns, Isabella Rodriguez, a library assistant at Kent Free Library, said, “I’m trying to stay positive. I hope that we get the money we need to continue building our collection. There are so many things people do want to see in our library.”
According to the Kent Free Library director, the library may lose a “small percentage of money” in the fiscal year 2026.
“We look to be losing only about $15,000 in this fiscal year,” Richardson said. “And then moving forward in the fiscal year 2027, we will actually see a slight increase, but it’ll be less than $50,000.”
Amid the legal discussions, the Kent Free Library posted community impact numbers on social media this week.
“In 2024, we had nearly 150,000 visits to the library. And we offer, on average, 103 different programs monthly,” Richardson said. “So for people to that think that libraries aren’t relevant anymore, our stats show that that’s just simply not true. We’re still really heavily used.”
The bill now goes to the other side of the chambers to the Senate for consideration. The state’s budget needs to be approved by the Ohio Legislature and Gov. DeWine June 30.
KSTV’s Sydney Brown has more.
Sydney Brown is a Kent Stater TV Reporter. Contact her at [email protected].
