libraries

The Perry County District Library is one of 16 in the nation chosen for a new initiative: the Smithsonian Associate Rural Library Program.

The request was made by four alumni in 2022 after claims that former OSU President William Oxley Thompson established de facto racially-segregated schools in Columbus.

In 2023, Ohioans checked out more library materials per capita than people in any other state. Many local libraries expand their reach by taking collections on the road.

Across Ohio, property taxes support a large part of library budgets.

Republicans say allowing local taxing authorities in Ohio to block library levies would increase transparency, but libraries say it will hurt them and voters.

Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed 67 line items when he signed the biennial state budget late Monday night. It’s the highest count in more than a decade of budgets.

The two-year budget Republican lawmakers have approved and sent on to Gov. Mike DeWine includes changes for the state’s 251 public library systems.

Two Ohio correctional institutions are bringing in hundreds of new books for incarcerated residents.

Many of the state’s small libraries rely on the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services for programming. The Trump administration has effectively shut the federal agency down.

Federal grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services were paused in March when nearly all of the staff were laid off by the Trump administration.