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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2009 > June > 23
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Guest column: Strickland proposal will devastate Ohio libraries
Tim Kambitsch is executive director of the Dayton Metro Library. Gov. Ted Strickland’s proposal to permit slot machines covered the front pages of Ohio’s newspapers during this past weekend. The real gamble he’s taking, however, is his proposal that would cut funding to Ohio public libraries by nearly 50 percent. That move would force the closure of many of Ohio’s 750 public libraries and branches found in neighborhoods and communities in every county in the state.
“Where will you go when your library closes?” is a question Ohioans have to ask themselves. Where will your teens go when the safe and constructive places they visit after school are gone?
Unemployed, underemployed and at-risk employees trying to hone their skills, seek out new employers and update resumes will find computers turned off and doors closed.
Parents and caregivers wanting to ensure young children are ready for kindergarten will be left to their own devices and their children will be left behind. Children who use public libraries for school support and homework help — often because school libraries have been eliminated — will have no other option. Statewide summer reading programs that help kids retain essential reading and learning skills will no longer be available.
This is not rhetoric. This is not hyperbole.
If enacted Strickland’s late-hour proposal to cut $227.3 million in funding to Ohio’s public libraries will be devastating. This move could not come at a worse time, considering that libraries have been stressed by nearly a decade of funding freezes and cuts.
The remarkable thing is that, while public libraries have been making the tough choices required to balance budgets, they have been keeping their doors wide open, making a difference in the lives of record numbers of users.
Ohio public libraries are funded by 2.22 percent of total state General Revenues Fund tax receipts. Everyone understood that when the economy contracted, public libraries would see less funding.
And, in the last decade, libraries have lost nearly a quarter of that funding, with most of the decline coming in recent months. It has been painful, but public libraries have been willing to endure their fair share. The governor’s proposal is an additional 30 percent cut on top of the 20 percent reduction libraries have already experienced this year.
Libraries have always been a refuge for those who seek self-improvement. For the last 15 years, they have also been the place for those who cannot afford Internet access. For many Ohioans, libraries may be the only way to participate in the information economy.
In today’s world, public libraries have never been needed more. They provide information, materials and programs necessary to survive in this economy.
Closing public libraries will send a message to young people: “Go elsewhere.” Strickland’s proposal contributes to a downward spiral from which Ohio will never recover.
The budget conference committee needs to make difficult decisions within the next 10 days. It cannot gamble with Ohio’s future and take all of us down the road of decline.
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