Hannah News Service

Libraries Seek to Retain Current State Funding Levels; Stoltzfus Issues ‘Warning’ on Drag Events

The General Assembly should reject a provision of Gov. Mike DeWine’s executive budget proposal reducing state funding for libraries, representatives of the Ohio Library Council (OLC) told the House Finance Committee during budget testimony on Wednesday.

“The Public Library Fund is not a line-item appropriation like the numerous programs and state agencies before you in HB110 (Oelslager). It is in permanent law and is a set percentage of the state’s monthly tax receipts that go into the General Revenue Fund (GRF). It ebbs and flows each month depending on state revenues and is currently set in temporary law at 1.7 percent of the GRF for FY21. The as-introduced version of HB110 would reduce state funding to Ohio’s public libraries from 1.7 percent to 1.66 percent of the state’s GRF,” OLC Government and Legal Services Director Jay Smith said, noting that level would be the lowest since FY15.

“Under the governor’s proposal, the Ohio Office of Budget and Management (OBM) is estimating the PLF will decrease by 0.5 percent in FY22 and increase by 3.5 percent in FY23. However, these estimates are based on assumed growth in Ohio’s economy and the assumption that no additional policy changes will impact the GRF. Most often, libraries do not realize these estimates. Only once in the past seven years has the PLF met the estimates included in budget documents,” Smith said.

Smith said more than 48 percent of the total funding for Ohio’s public libraries comes from the PLF, adding that 50 of the state’s 251 libraries do not have a local property tax levy and rely on state funding as their primary source of revenue for day-to-day operations.

Cuts to libraries would be particularly harmful to Ohioans during the pandemic, as the need for services has increased, OLC Executive Director Michelle Francis said, pointing to the Internet use as an example.

“Over the last year, the majority of our libraries had parking lots full of rows of cars utilizing the Wi-Fi for school, work and personal use. Some libraries even had individuals set up their own table with a computer and printer outside of the library and had food delivered while they were utilizing the library’s Wi-Fi and electrical outlets outside of the building. The need for reliable broadband is real,” Francis said. “Public library services are essential to the communities we serve. This was already evident pre-pandemic and became even more profound over the past year. Our members will always have books on the shelves, but our services today go far beyond books. We meet patrons where they are -- if they are at home, at school or outside of our buildings,” Francis said. “Libraries today provide a wide range of services to Ohio’s citizens based on the needs of each individual community. In your local communities, we serve as a critical resource by providing connectivity to the Internet and computers for personal, employment and student use. Libraries provide wrap-around services through homework help centers (both virtual and in-person) and serve as feeding sites for both children and adults impacted by food insecurity. Ohioans utilize their local libraries for job search assistance, online training and to start small businesses.”

Libraries are also used for blood drives, modernized plexiglass meeting rooms, tax services, COVID-19 testing, vaccine appointments and outreach to senior citizens, she said.

“As we come out of the pandemic, Ohio’s public libraries will be here to work with our schools to address the pandemic educational gaps we are seeing in pre-K and kindergarten as well as minority populations and economically-disadvantaged communities,” Francis said. “We will be here to assist in workforce development efforts to help displaced workers take online courses and apply for employment. We will still be here providing programming and lifelong learning opportunities for all ages. However, to continue these efforts, we will need resources.”

Rep. (D-Willowick) asked whether any of the 50 library systems without levies have tried to raise money locally, noting libraries in his district enjoy support of around 75 percent every time they go to voters. He also asked why there are so many separate systems, saying consolidation could help with some of the funding issues.

Francis said there have been 251 library districts in Ohio as long as she can remember, noting there is local support for those libraries. She said she’s aware of efforts to consolidate libraries and have centralized buildings, and they always receive pushback from communities.

“People want their community libraries,” Francis said. Troy responded that he understands, saying the situation with senior centers is similar.

Rep. Reggie Stoltzfus (R-Minerva) asked whether the OLC will take any action to stop Ohio libraries from holding events where drag queens interact with teenagers, saying he believes it’s “wrong.”

“This is … a warning, that myself and our colleagues will not tolerate this behavior in our public library systems. It’s a breach of trust to the taxpayers of the state of Ohio, and it must stop. It’s one thing to have books on the shelf talking about this stuff, but to be actively teaching it and proliferating it to our young people, it can’t happen. It must stop. I’m asking you to relay to your members that it must stop. … We need to take note of this. We need to discuss this issue. We fund libraries, so let’s take note of this. Libraries are a great resources, but like any entity, they can overstep their bounds. We need to keep them within their bounds,” Stoltzfus said.

Francis said OLC is not a regulatory authority, and that libraries follow federal law in not discriminating against entities based on the content of their speech. House Finance Committee Chair (R-North Canton), who noted he attended law school with Francis, said the First Amendment protects libraries and other public buildings from restricting speech based on content, and is unaware of any court finding that libraries can be restricted in the way Stoltzfus was suggesting.

Reps. (D-Cleveland) and Mike Skindell (D-Lakewood) both criticized Stoltzfus for his statement, saying libraries shouldn’t be threatened for allowing minority groups to speak freely.

The issue of libraries hosting LGBTQ events involving drag artists and entertainers came up in June 2019, when former House Speaker (R-Glenford) asked libraries to ban such activities. OLC also said then that public libraries do not prohibit speech based on content. (See The Hannah Report, 6/3/19.)

Story originally published in The Hannah Report on March 10, 2021. Copyright 2021 Hannah News Service, Inc.

Gongwer News Coverage

Libraries: Michelle Francis, executive director of the Ohio Library Council, testified alongside Jay Smith, the OLC's director of government and legal services. She detailed ways libraries have provided new services since the start of the pandemic, including mobile hotspots, Census outreach, one-on-one tech training and tutoring appointments, helping patrons schedule vaccines and providing COVID testing.

"As we come out of the pandemic, Ohio's public libraries will be here to work with our schools to address the pandemic educational gaps we are seeing in Pre-K and Kindergarten as well as minority populations and economically disadvantaged communities," Ms. Francis said. "We will be here to assist in workforce development efforts to help displaced workers take online courses and apply for employment. We will still be here providing programming and lifelong learning opportunities for all ages. However, to continue these efforts, we will need resources." Mr. Smith said libraries have seen increased costs in the past year, for example, because of the costs associated with ebooks and audiobooks. He said the budget proposal to reduce the Public Library Fund's share of general revenue funding from 1.7% to 1.66% could be coupled with reduced state tax receipts because of the economy to mean libraries are hit particularly hard.

"State funding through the PLF is critically important because it remains a primary source of revenue for public libraries," he said. "Statewide, more than 48% of the total funding for Ohio's public libraries comes from the state through the PLF. In addition, 20% of Ohio's public library systems (50 of 251) do not have a local property tax levy and rely solely on their state funding as their main source of revenue for day-to-day operations."

Ohio's funding for libraries is different from that in many other states, where they are considered part of local governments, Ms. Francis told Rep. Daniel Troy (D-Willowick). Ohio's public library system is well known and respected across the country because of the way it is set up.

Rep. Reggie Stoltzfus (R-Minerva) asked about an incident from a couple of years ago in which a library in Licking County planned a "Drag Queen Storytime" event, which drew criticism from conservative groups.

"Ohio's public libraries are open to all," Ms. Francis said. She pointed to a federal case which determined libraries cannot regulate the content that is provided in meeting rooms.

Rep. Stoltzfus said he and other lawmakers "will not tolerate this behavior in our public library system."

Chairman Rep. Scott Oelslager (R-Canton) said he was taught in law school that the First Amendment doesn't allow for time, place and manner restrictions based on content.

"Once we have open meeting rooms, people already pay for those with their taxpayer dollars," Ms. Francis said. "We're just the custodians."

Mr. Smith told Rep. (R-Richfield) that libraries would ask for consideration or protection from any tax changes or tax expenditures.