OLC responds to the governor

The Ohio Library Council has drafted a response to Governor Strickland's earlier open letter:

It appears that Governor Strickland has chosen to ignore the public outcry
supporting Ohio's public libraries and is sticking to his original proposal to
slash public library funding by 30% in each of the next two years. His proposed
cuts are in addition to the 20% decrease already experienced by public libraries
due to decreases in tax revenues.

Public libraries recognize that these are tough times and have been willing to shoulder their fair share of the burden. However, an additional 30% is not a fair share.

The OLC appreciates the fact that Governor recognizes the value of the public libraries in this state but his continued stance on cutting library funding will be
devastating.

The OLC hopes the General Assembly has heard the voice of Ohioans supporting public libraries and we strongly urge them to appropriately represent their constituents' voices in the budget process.