Hello Worthington! Here's your recap of what happened at April 21's Worthington Libraries Board of Trustees meeting. Below are brief summaries of the most significant discussions about your library system. For those interested in the full details, we've included links to longer articles where appropriate.
2027 tax budget filing heads to the county: $11.6 million
Trustees authorized the library to file a 2027 tax budget request of approximately $11.6 million with the Franklin County Budget Commission (Resolution 04-02-26). The request splits into about $2.9 million from Ohio's Public Library Fund and roughly $8.7 million from general property taxes (including the homestead rollback). Chief Financial Officer Jeremie Stevens told the board the filing is a routine planning document that demonstrates the library's need for state and property tax dollars. It does not lock in a specific 2027 spending plan; the board will adopt that separately later this year.
Northwest Library boiler project restarts with a designer first
The library's original design-build request for the Northwest Library cooling tower and boiler replacement drew interest from eight firms but no actual bids. "People are just saying that the design-build framework is just too complicated", a library official told the board. Library staff said the single-branch scale of the project was too small to attract firms that do design-build work. So trustees approved a new approach: hire Karpinski Engineering, a firm already on the library's pre-qualified list, to design the project (up to $50,000), then put the construction work out to bid separately. An initial quote for the construction has already come in below the earlier estimate.
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After 26 years, Communications Specialist Hillary Klein retires
Trustees passed a resolution honoring Hillary Klein, the library's communications specialist since 2006 and a library employee since 2000, who retires May 1. Her tenure covers two successful levy campaigns, the 2007 Library of the Year designation, the opening of Worthington Park Library, and the library's 2011 John Cotton Dana Award for public relations. As the resolution put it: "from the newsletter to the website, if you're reading it, Hillary wrote it."
In Other Library News
- Search Ohio management moves to the State Library of Ohio. The State Library is taking over management of Search Ohio, the program that lets Worthington cardholders borrow books from libraries across the state, from Westerville Public Library, which has run it since its founding.
- Action plan updates. The logo rebrand is on pause until after branch renovations and a successful levy campaign. The library plans to publish an architect RFP for major branch improvements at the end of April, is evaluating study pods after research at the Public Library Association conference, and has completed all staff cybersecurity training to comply with Ohio House Bill 96. The library expects to enroll in the Sustainable Libraries Initiative in Q2.
- Public Library Association conference debrief. Director of Support Services Monica Baughman reported on sessions in Minneapolis, which opened with remarks from the city's mayor, and on connections made with architecture firms in the exhibit hall. She noted that national book-challenge numbers, per the American Library Association, remain at or near record highs.
- Finance snapshot. March property tax collections caught up after a county-wide February delay. The library holds about $18 million in Meeder investments that are outperforming STAR Ohio; expenses are running around 5.5% of budget and property tax receipts at about 26% at the two-month mark.
Programming Recap
- Community breakfast at Northwest. A well-attended community breakfast the morning of the meeting featured an origin story of Northwest Library.
- Nintendo Day drew 1,300 to Worthington Park Library. The library's second annual Nintendo Day featured a real-life Mario Kart using library book bins, craft stations, and a returning "make your own Nintendo Switch" craft.
- Liberty Elementary Family Fun Night at Northwest drew 203 students.
- Deer-resistant perennials program drew 33 patrons.
- Summer Reading bookmark illustration contest received 291 entries; winning designs will be printed as real bookmarks to promote Summer Reading.
Upcoming at Your Library
- National Library Week checkout challenge runs through May 16. A system-wide browse-and-check-out challenge to get people into the branches.
- Next Board of Trustees meeting, Tuesday, May 19, 6 p.m. at Worthington Park Library.
- Summer Reading Club, May 22 through August 2. Prizes have been updated from books to dinosaur plushes and tote bags. Additionally, the revised activity board now incentivizes library program attendance alongside traditional reading goals. Kickoff events are scheduled at each branch.
- Memorial Day Parade, Monday, May 25, 10 a.m. Library staff and trustees will march.
- Pride March, Saturday, June 20, 10:30 a.m. The library will bring its pop-up library to the route.
- America 250 / Declaration of Independence display at Old Worthington Library, now through July 4. Includes interactive elements and further-reading displays.
Thanks for reading this summary of the Worthington Libraries Board of Trustees meeting. You can find board meeting schedules, agendas, and minutes on the Worthington Libraries website or watch the meeting recording here.