Why is the levy necessary for the library?
The local levy accounts for over 52% of our annual income.
The Community Library depends on local support to maintain and grow our programs and services. The one-mill levy provides stable and sufficient resources for five years, allowing the library to meet the needs of the growing community.
Voters will get the opportunity to decide on November 7.
How much will it cost?
The one-mill replacement levy will cost home owners $35 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s appraised value.
Through this a household has access to over 700,000 physical items, 3.3 million digital items, Wi-Fi, hotspots, public notaries, passport services, workshops, storytimes, public meeting rooms, and much, much more. Visit yourcl.org to see everything the library has to offer.
How does the library use resources to enrich our community?
The library recognizes its role as a lifelong learning center in the community. To that end, we continue to provide free access to traditional library services, while also exploring ways to meet the changing needs of our patrons.
Over the last five years, the library has:
Increased material acquisitions by nearly 11%, ensuring that patrons have timely access to popular titles and relevant resources.
Expanded programs and services for all ages, enhancing them to meet current demands, resulting in an average annual increase of 10% in attendance.
Increased access to ebooks, digital audiobooks, streaming movies and music, etc., through services such as the Ohio Digital Library and Hoopla. Patrons now have access to 3.3 million digital titles. Circulation of such titles has increased 66% since 2018.
Increased the number of mobile hotspots and laptops for circulation.
Increased non-traditional library services, such as public notaries and passport applications. We average over 1,500 passport and notarization annually.
We were one of the few libraries to remain open during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Additionally, in partnership with the State of Ohio, we have distributed almost 20,000 free COVID-19 tests.
How is the library a good steward of public resources?
The library continually evaluates service contracts and library programs, looking for ways to maximize public dollars. We estimate that for every public dollar we receive the community receives a benefit of $3.50. We also look for alternative forms of revenue to offset the impact on local residents.
The Community Library:
Collaborated with the Consortium of Ohio Libraries, to share the costs of software, support, and other services, while also giving residents seamless access to over 700,000 physical items.
Worked with vendors and service providers, resulting in only a 3% growth in annual operational costs throughout the last five years.
Kept staff size at approximately 15 full-time employees to help maintain personnel costs.
Averaged over 1,000 volunteer hours annually.
Secured $717,849 in grants and donations over the last five years to expand services with minimal impact on the community.
What will the library do if the levy passes?
We will continue to provide welcoming environments for all to pursue knowledge and cultivate interests.
Specifically, we will:
Adapt and enhance programs to meet the changing needs of the growing community, ensuring that the library is providing quality services to all age levels.
Maintain a timely, current, and diverse collection of materials to meet the needs of users.
Increase the availability of electronic resources, such as ebooks and databases, while exploring new services that will benefit the community.
Continue partnerships with local schools and organizations to maximize effectiveness.
Evaluate service models to ensure library resources are available when demand is the highest.
What will the library do if the levy fails?
We will work with the community to determine what actions to take to best serve area residents.
The library will lose over half of our revenue if voters do not approve the replacement levy. We have some operational reserves, but once those reserves have been exhausted, we would have to reduce hours, eliminate programs, and cut staff. These difficult decisions would be made with community input.
