Which library levy will you vote on?
Under state law, local library districts are divided by school district.
The Lane Public Library system will be on the ballot in the Hamilton, Talawanda, Ross, Fairfield and New Miami school districts, as well as portions of the Edgewood Local School District.
The Middletown Public Library system will be on the ballot in the Middletown, Madison and Lakota school districts, as well as portions of the Edgewood Local School District.
HAMILTON — Many who support local libraries think of them as community centers or as a “gem” of their particular city.
But in seeking voter approval for the first property tax levies in their history, both the Lane and Middletown library systems will have to find support far outside their traditional service areas.
The library service areas — the areas that would pay the 0.75-mill levies if they passed — are broken down by school district. This means the fate of the Middletown library system will be partially decided by the many voters in Liberty Twp. and Monroe, neither of which has a local branch.
And the Lane Public Library system is courting support from rural southwestern Butler County.
The first some voters will hear of the library levies will be when they show up at the ballot box, local leaders say.
Library name ‘a source of confusion’
“Those who use the library, regular patrons, I think would indeed be aware of it (the levy),” said Liberty Twp. Trustee David Kern. “But the nonusers, I think they would rightfully say, ‘Who? What? Middletown? That’s way up there.’ ”
The Middletown Public Library does have branches in West Chester Twp., Trenton and Middletown itself.
But Monroe has its own Monroe Lending Library that’s in the process of expanding.
Middletown Public Library Director Doug Bean admits that “it is a source of confusion that the name of the system is also the name of a building, the Middletown Public Library.”
“In fact ... the board has from time to time discussed changing the name to a more generic title such as the Eastern Butler County Library,” he said.
He applauds Monroe for starting its own community library. But he says many of the Middletown system’s more than 140,000 library-card holders are from Liberty Twp. and Monroe. They have been wanting to build a library in that area for years, he said.
“There’s a lot of use from everyone in the service district for all three libraries,” he said. “We have our doors open for everyone in the service district, everyone in the county.”
Rural voters have say in Lane library
The Lane Public Library system has branches in its most populous cities: Hamilton, Fairfield and Oxford.
But its service area also includes large swaths of rural land far from any Lane library.
Reily Twp. Trustee Dennis Conrad said many residents in his area don’t know much about the levy. Many, he said, will learn of it the first time in the ballot box.
While residents in northern Reily Twp. go to the Oxford Lane library, he said many in the southern reaches and Morgan Twp. use the library in Harrison, in Hamilton County.
Conrad said he supports the library levy, but “I think it would be interesting to see if it passes or not, the way the economy is right now, there’s so many people out of work,” he said.
“A lot of people are out of work with no income, I know. They’re not going to pay for any type of tax levy, whatever it is,” Conrad said.
Lane Library spokeswoman Carrie Mancuso said the library system has a bookmobile that regularly visits Ross and Fairfield townships. As far as whether far-flung communities identify with the library, “That’s an individual thought rather than a communitywide thought in those communities.”
“We’re finding through the levy effort they’re big supporters ... whether they’re in the community where there’s a physical library or not,” she said.
‘The community’s living room’
If passed, the levies in both areas would cost the owner of a $100,000 home $22.97 per year. Administrators say it’s needed to bridge a state budget cut, and point out it’s roughly the cost of one hard-cover book.
While some anti-tax advocates are pushing for the library to start charging check-out fees instead of a new tax, library officials say that’s not permitted under state law.
“I don’t think anybody who is involved in this effort is overly confident about it, we just feel optimistic about it,” Mancuso said.
“We understand that people don’t want new taxes, that’s certainly understandable, especially in this economy,” she said. “The library affects everyone and has the potential to enrich everyone’s lives.”
Bean agreed, and said he’s “hopeful” that people can look past the name and see the library’s value.
“It’s a tremendous community resource that over 2,000 people a day use. It helps people,” he said. “It is the community’s library. It’s the community’s meeting room. It’s the community’s living room. It’s the community’s story-time room.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2175 or jsweigart@coxohio.com.
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