Why is the library requesting an increase?

Athens County Public Libraries currently receive most of their funding from Ohio’s Public Library Fund (PLF), and a 5-year, 1.2 mill property tax levy passed by the citizens of Athens County in 2019. Prior to the financial crisis of 2008-9, the library received almost all of its funding from the State of Ohio through the PLF. In response to the crisis, the state cut the PLF by approximately 30%, resulting in drastic cuts at libraries across the state and layoffs, reductions in hours, and discontinued services at the Athens County Public Libraries. ACPL passed our first levy in 2014 in order to make up those lost state funds, however since then state funding has not returned to pre-2009 levels adjusted for inflation, while the cost of operations for the library continues to increase. The library is requesting a replacement levy plus an increase of .3 mills, or 1.5 mills total, for five years.

Since the passage of the first levy in 2014 the library has been a good steward of public funds: restoring hours, increasing programming and services for the community, and updating library facilities. Library services provide one of the best returns on taxpayer investment there is. For a summary of the library's activities over the past five years, please click here.

What do the taxpayers get for their money?

Athens County Public Libraries remain dedicated to our core mission of providing the information and resources our patrons need to be successful and fulfilled in their lives, celebrating the many different people and communities in our county, and bringing people together to find solutions for the challenges facing us.

The past five years were particularly challenging as the COVID-19 pandemic upended lives around the world and also here in Athens County. The library worked hard to follow the guidelines laid out by the Ohio Department of Health while still working to provide the services that were in even more demand by the residents of Athens County. The library moved quickly to highlight our electronic resources and enable residents to obtain e-cards remotely so that they could take advantage of the online entertainment and education the library provides like Kanopy, Hoopla, Libby, LinkedIn Learning, and more. We pivoted to take our popular Summer @ the Library program virtual, including online activities to keep kids engaged with reading, and virtual programs for all ages. When the library reopened we continued to offer virtual options for patrons who were at risk or otherwise unable to come to the library, and also shifted to offer curbside services and take-and-make activity kits. The library also partnered with the Ohio Department of Health to distribute COVID tests across the county as they became available.

Responding to COVID also led us to find ways to connect to our patrons outdoors, and in partnership with Athens City Parks and Recreation Department we introduced our first Storybook Trail at Sells Park. This success led to additional Storybook Trails at Chauncey Village Park and Robbins Crossing Historic Village, and a partnership with the Ping Institute for the Humanities at Ohio University to present “Stories in the Park” at Richland Park in Athens, highlighting writers and artists in our community.

Over the past five years we also expanded our Outreach efforts by restarting our Bookmobile service, which had not been in operation since the 2009 financial crisis. Our new Bookmobile was paid for through a generous bequest, and can now be seen in all corners of the county, bringing library services (including WiFi!) to communities that do not have a library branch.

We took advantage of COVID response funding to expand our Locker Libraries from the original in Amesville to locations in Stewart, New Marshfield, and Shade, enabling residents of those communities to order materials from our branches to be picked up at the lockers in their communities. At the same time we also expanded our public WiFi sites to the Federal Valley Resource Center in Stewart and the Shade Community Center.

ACPL also responded to our patrons’ need for internet connectivity by circulating WiFi hotspots. This proved so popular that the library quickly expanded from the initial 20 hotspots to 150 in circulation today.

Thanks to a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the State Library of Ohio, ACPL also contracted with Integrated Services for Behavioral Health to have a social worker assigned to the library full time, allowing us to better serve our patrons in need of resources by directly connecting them to the resources they need instead of having to refer them to other agencies. ACPL’s social worker has had over 700 high quality interactions with patrons in need of services every year since the program started.

All these accomplishments have come at the same time that our staff continue to offer engaging  and  educational  programming, and tens of thousands of new library materials every year. With the community’s continued support we will be able to continue to offer these services and more, and meet the information needs of the Athens County community for the next five years.

What will the levy cost the taxpayer?

The current levy costs approximately $2.45 per month for $100,000 of property value. The replacement levy that will be on the ballot November 5th will cost approximately $3.94 per month.

What is the return on investment?

For ten years the Ohio Library Council has worked with economist Howard Fleeter of Howard Fleeter & Associates to develop an economic return on investment calculator for libraries. Using the library’s actual 2022 services such as circulation, programming, and public computer usage, the calculator determines what the economic benefit of the library is to the community. Based on these calculations, for every $1 spent on library services in Athens County, $3.27 comes back into the local economy. Click here to read more about the library's return on investment.