Levy Issue #47 Information
This November 5th, 2024, the Preble County District Library will be asking for a five year renewal on our local property tax levy. As a renewal, there will be no new taxes. The levy will be asking for 1 mill over 5 years, or approximately $25 a year per $100,000 of property value.
How your library is funded
The Preble County District Library is funded through a variety of sources, including the Public Library Fund (PLF), a local property tax levy, donations, grants, and fees. While the majority of our funding comes from the PLF and is funded through state income and sales tax, a huge portion of what we do is only possible through funding from the local property tax levy. In that past, the Preble County District Library was funded only by the PLF and voluntary contributions, but with the addition of levy funding, we've been able to add new services including our Adventure Pass program, Hoopla, Mobile Hot Spots, and more!
How your library spends money
The Preble County District Library spends it's budget in a variety of ways that can be broken down into three general categories: goods for circulation, services we offer, and community events/programs. Here are just a few of the things we offer, almost entirely for free:
Goods
- Books
- Movies
- Video Games
- Audio Books
- CDs
- Mobile Hotspots
- Book Club Kits
- Explore & More Adventure Passes
- Sprout Backpacks
Services
- Libby - eBooks and audiobooks
- hoopla - eBooks, audiobooks, and movies
- Comics Plus - online comics and manga
- Copying, Faxing, and Scan to Email
- Online tutoring through Brainfuse
- Outreach delivery and pickup
- Online academic and research databases
- MakerSpace - 3D printing, sewing, embroidering, digital cuttin,g and more
Programs
- Summer Reading
- Children's Storytimes
- Preble County Comic Con
- Geneaology Fair
- Adult Craft Programs
- 1000 Books Before Kindergarten
- Homeschool Hours
- Explore & More Adventure Passes
- Free Family Portrait Sessions
A closer look at the numbers
Checking out books, movies, and games is still the core of what we do at the Preble County District Library. Every year the PCDL circulates thousands of items throughout Preble County. In 2022 alone, we circulated almost 200,000 items. As part of the Serving Every Ohioan (SEO) consortium, we are able to offer items not only from our own collection, but from the collections of over one hundred libraries all across Ohio. In 2022 we added over 13,000 new titles to our collection, and our offerings continue to grow more robust day by day.
"We're proud to say in 2022 we added 1,188 new library card holders,
an almost 10% increase in our total number of card holders."
The PCDL believes that adding new patrons to the library is the first step to fostering strong community growth. We're proud to say that in 2022 we added 1,188 new cardholders, an almost 10% increase in our total number of card holders. Based on the most recent census numbers, it is fair to estimate that over one quarter of all Preble County residents now hold a PCDL Library Card.
Beyond the numbers
Being transparent and accurate in our reporting are things we believe are core to responsibly spending the funds that the public entrusts us with, but numbers can only show so much of what the Preble County District Library really is. We believe the true efficacy of our spending can be found in the communities we help foster, the opportunities that we afford to the underprivileged, and the countless smiling faces we see each day at the library.
