Ohio Library Leaders Gather in Columbus for Legislative Day

Nearly 200 library directors and trustees gathered in Columbus on March 18 for Library Legislative Day. The day began at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Columbus, where attendees listened to legislative briefings from OLC staff, a special presentation from Kim Murnieks, Director of the Ohio Office of Budget and Management (OBM), and an advocacy panel discussion with OLC members.

During her speech, Director Murnieks said reading is  important to Ohio’s economic development and that Ohio’s public libraries play in a key role in these efforts. She talked about how Ohioans love their public libraries with 48.1 million library visits a year and the fact that 7.4 million Ohioans have library cards. Murnieks also discussed the recent OBM memo outlining the consequences of the proposed constitutional amendment to eliminate property taxes in Ohio. She emphasized that abolishing property taxes would remove a critical funding source not only for public libraries, but also for schools, police and fire departments, and other essential community services.

Murnieks said property taxes generate approximately $24 billion annually for local governments—an amount equal to the state’s total revenue from income and sales taxes combined. She noted that eliminating property taxes, without a replacement plan, would immediately destabilize local budgets and force significant cuts to essential services. If it were to happen, abolishing property taxes would have a catastrophic ripple effect across Ohio. OLC provided attendees with a fact sheet on public libraries and property taxes, along with the OBM memo and additional resources.

The morning program also featured an Advocacy Panel Discussion with Stacey Russell, Executive Director of the Muskingum County Library System; Cheryl Kuonen, Executive Director of Mentor Public Library; Sarah Clevidence, Director of the Findlay-Hancock County Public Library; and Paula Brehm-Heeger, Executive Director of the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library. They shared examples of successful advocacy strategies and offered practical ideas for using data to strengthen storytelling. They also discussed effective ways to build and maintain relationships with legislators and answered questions from attendees.

In the afternoon, participants headed across the street to the Statehouse to meet with members of the Ohio General Assembly. Library advocates discussed the life-changing work of Ohio’s public libraries and shared key findings from a recent statewide public opinion poll. You can see pictures from today’s event on social media using #OhioLibraryDay.

Note to Legislative Day participants: Please send us feedback on your visits with legislators today through the OLC website. Thank you!