Staff photo / R. Michael Semple The Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County Executive Director Aimee Fifarek talks about the funding issues facing libraries across the state because of proposed changes to the Public Library Fund. The senate still needs to vote on the proposal and local library directors plan to lobby area senators to restore the funding to previous levels.

YOUNGSTOWN — While the march on Columbus was triumphant for libraries Tuesday, their Mahoning Valley leaders warned other challenges are ahead.

Three hundred and fifty library leaders — 15 of whom were from Ashtabula, Mahoning, Columbiana and Trumbull counties — were at the Statehouse in Columbus to fight cuts to library funding, according to a news release from the Lake to River Libraries.

The release states they produced some “short-term successes,” including reducing cuts to the Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County (PLYMC) from $1.35 million to $90,000, according to PLYMC Director and CEO Aimee Fifarek.

However, the dedicated funding to the Public Library Fund (PLF) as a percentage of the state’s general revenue fund was ended as part of the pared-down cuts to libraries statewide. Library leaders are calling for the PLF to not only be restored, but also expanded from 1.7% of the general revenue fund to 1.75%, like it was in Gov. Mike DeWine’s original proposal.

Fifarek noted the obstructive effects of ending the connection between the PLF and the state’s general revenue fund, as it takes away library funding ebbing and flowing with the state’s economic status.

“Right now, our funding is a percentage of the General Revenue Fund,” Fifarek said. “If the state succeeds, the library gets more money. If the state isn’t succeeding, then we suffer along with everybody else.”

Fifarek said that with the connection broken, it no longer fluctuates with the state’s successes.

“Quite frankly, it sets us up to have state-level library funding eliminated completely from the bill,” she said. “Our advocates down in Columbus have heard from people on both sides of the aisle that that is potentially part of the strategy.”

Fifarek said she received an email, including a link from the Senate Chamber floor, discussing consolidation. In this context, consolidation wouldn’t mean forming county library systems similar to Mahoning County, she said, but would make municipalities completely responsible for library costs — similar to other states.

“Ohio is known for having great libraries and great library services, in part because of this dedicated funding at the state level,” Fifarek said.

Fifty-one percent of the funding for Ohio’s public libraries comes from the state through the PLF. For the PLYMC, it was 47% of its budget, Fifarek said.

“It’s a major driver for what we can get and keep in mind that we function very differently from schools, local governments, right?” she said. “We have two sources of funding — half comes from our local property tax levy, and the other comes from the PLF.”

Fifarek said there are “multiple” library systems in the Lake-to-River area that cannot pass a local levy — making them “highly dependent” on the PLF.

“Should that Public Library Fund be eliminated for us, it would be devastating for other communities,” she said. “It would mean the complete elimination of the library system.”

Strategic Communications Officer Michael Stepp and Fifarek presented handwritten messages from anonymous library patrons of all ages explaining the impact of the library system in their lives through their “I love my library because…” movement.

“It’s a hub of support for everyone. No matter who you are, the library is there to help you find information, navigate struggles and grow into a better version of yourself,” one patron wrote. “Without well-funded libraries, my life and the lives of my family members would be diminished.”

Another patron explained that they used the genealogy department for microfilm and newspaper archives to help research veterans buried in Mahoning County.

“The help from the librarians is invaluable in aiding our research,” the patron wrote. “Their knowledge of what resources are available and their willingness to help the patrons solve a problem cannot be replaced. History needs to be protected.”

The 100 messages they presented were only a fraction of what they had because they hadn’t collected any more since Monday, initially starting around the middle of last week, Stepp said.

Stepp said “about 80” of the 100 were brought to Columbus for the Library Legislative Day of Action Tuesday and presented to legislators.

TRUMBULL COUNTY

Jim Wilkins, the Warren-Trumbull County Public Library’s executive director, said they did something similar to the PLYMC, but never had the chance to meet with any of the state’s representatives because they were tied up in a caucus all day.

“We did give one to, I think it was Dave Thomas’s aide, so he did get them,” Wilkins said. “Representative (Nick) Santucci, I realize they’re busy, and that’s what it is. Senator (Sandra) O’Brien, the same thing — she was in conferences all day.”

Wilkins said the claim that the change is an increase is “kind of a misnomer.”

“They (representatives) made changes to what they originally proposed. The original proposal was to delete the PLF, which they did do,” Wilkins said. “The original proposal was to do it based on per capita, which would have been losses in quite a few counties. Some counties gained, and some counties lost. They went back to the original funding distribution formula, not the funding itself.”

Wilkins said representatives also have stuck to the claim that the pared-down cuts were an increase from 2020 — the COVID-19 year.

“Yeah, it was an increase over 2020, but 2020 was COVID year; nobody was working,” Wilkins said. “It’s a decrease no matter how you cut it.”

Wilkins said while they’re disappointed, the battle for library funding goes to the senate.

“We’ll try contacting Senator O’Brien, and Amy (Fifarek) from Youngstown is going to contact (Al) Cutrona,” he said.