Your public library needs your help!

In the wake of an unprecedented financial crisis, the Public Library of Mount Vernon & Knox County has placed a one-mill continuing period operating levy for current expenses on the November 3 ballot. This is the official website of the Knox County Library District Levy Campaign Committee.

These pages will give you all the salient information on the Library’s current financial crisis, the desperate need for this levy and how much it will cost the taxpayers. Check back often for updates.

Important points to know:

• In 1985, the State Legislature abolished Ohio public libraries’ major source of financial support. In so doing, it raised the state’s income tax revenues significantly. It also pledged to replace the lost library money by committing 6.3% of state income tax revenues to a library support fund, the LLGSF (Library and Local Government Support Fund). In, 1991, the Legislature welshed on that pledge by freezing library funds for 18 months, then cutting them nearly 10%. In 2002, the Legislature again froze library funds and periodically cut them. The pattern of freezing and cutting has continued to this day. Libraries statewide have lost upwards of $950 million since 1991. The Public Library of Mount Vernon & Knox County has lost $3.3 million.
  
  
• The Library’s budget has eroded to effectively half what it was seven years ago, and the future is looking very grim. Library staffing has been reduced by nearly a third, the budget for books, periodicals, CDs and DVDs has been slashed to nearly zero. Hours of operation at the main library and branches have been cut nearly 28%, as well as programs for children, young adults and adults.
  
  
• The outlook for next year is even bleaker. The amount of state support coming to the Library (about 85% of the total operating budget) is projected to be the lowest since 1996—and that’s in raw dollars. Adjusted for inflation, it’s the lowest since 1987. If the levy does not pass, it will mean more cuts in staff and hours of operation, and there will be little or no money for new books, magazines, newspapers, CDs and DVDs. It’s even possible that one or more library branches will have to be closed.
  
  
• The one-mill levy will raise about $1 million a year to restore Library staff, hours of operation, materials and programs. It will cost the owner of a $100,000 property just $35 a year. That’s less than $3 a month—less than a Happy Meal at McDonald’s or a Starbuck’s latte. It’s less than a dime a day!

A Dime a Day Gets You Your Library Back!
Vote Yes! for Your Library on November 3!