Thank You!
April 9, 2025
A message of thanks for your advocacy efforts on behalf of Huron County Community Library –
Hello.
On Tuesday, April 8th I joined over 350 library administrators, librarians, and trustees at Library Legislative Day at the Statehouse in Columbus. Legislators from both sides of the aisle have relayed the extraordinary response to our call to action. THANK YOU for your calls, emails and letters to House Speaker Huffman and HCCL Representatives Deeter and Swearingen.
Yesterday, the House Finance Committee made some changes to their proposed budget, through an omnibus amendment reinstating some Public Library Fund (PLF) language, while still repealing the language which mandated library funding come from a percentage of the General Revenue Fund (GRF). The amendment also gave a small increase to the original amounts proposed for fiscal year 2025 and 2026.
The budget now moves to the Senate. We are placing our call to action on pause.
The library understands in our rush to get our call to action out last Thursday, we may have stirred up more questions than answers. To be clear, the Huron County Community Library is not in immediate fiscal danger. Our Board approved 2025 appropriations will fulfill our 2025 contracted commitments and expenses. However, many Ohio public libraries are in jeopardy of losing personnel, collections, programs, and services without state funding.
Your advocacy efforts made a difference! We believe it was because of your quick response to our call to action, which highlighted for House Leaders the importance of Ohio public libraries to their constituents. The budget process has many more steps before the final budget is signed before July 1, 2025. Huron County Community Library will keep you informed during the process. You are appreciated and we sincerely thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Laura Lee Wilson