Columbus Library Board Meets To Decide Cuts In System

COLUMBUS, Ohio —The largest library system in Central Ohio faces an annual budget shortfall of $8.5 million after state lawmakers cut the Ohio Library fund to $142.7 million.

When the library board meets Wednesday morning to vote on a cost-saving plan, it could shutter the doors of several branches.

“They have been working overtime for the past several weeks to come up with several scenarios,“ stated library spokesperson Kim Snell.

At stake are cuts in personnel. The system employs 800 full- and part-time workers.

Also on the table are reductions in services and programs. Then there is the cold reality that some branches may shut down altogether, which would be catastrophic at the Northern Lights branch on Cleveland Avenue where the majority of library users are under the age of 18.

Northern lights is perhaps the busiest of all the Columbus branches. At the location, children are fed a free lunch and entertained by programs such as Yoga Stories. It is the only place kids have to escape the danger that lurks on the streets in the surrounding neighborhood.

The Library Board votes on a plan Wednesday, July 29. The meeting is being held at the main library on Grant Avenue at 8 a.m. It is open to the public.

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