At The Library

Time flies when you’re having fun. Yes, it’s cliché, but that what creates a cliché - the truth that lies at the core of the statement. Good times do seem to pass more quickly than bad. Here at your Library, we must have been having wonderful times the past five years, because they have simply flown by! Obviously, I’m making note of the passage of time because of our operating levy’s renewal date. Five years ago, Richland County voters passed a new - at the time - 2-mill operating levy, because cuts in state funding forced us to make cuts in staff, materials and hours of operation. That 2-mill levy has made a huge difference to Richland County. That support has meant that we’ve been able to maintain the excellent service and commitment to our community that our residents want. 
When I sit down to write this for each issue of At The Library, I look back over past issues. 2003 was bleak, but since then, we’ve quietly kept doing what our customers want - providing the books, audio books, CDs, DVDs, magazines and electronic resources they expect; providing computers for the public to do research with, to entertain themselves with, to keep in touch with. We’ve kept up a great schedule of programs for all ages and tastes - education, entertainment, networking, research; we’ve kept the goal of lifelong learning before us, in the forms of our early childhood literacy projects to our Library Literacy Connection, a one-on-one program for adults who want to learn to read or improve their reading skills. Those are a few of the obvious things - we’ve also kept up a maintenance program for all nine library locations; we’ve also maintained our automation system - the combination of hardware and software that enables you to find the materials you want and enables us to keep track of the almost 400,000 items in our collection.
In simple words, we’ve been keeping a good thing going. And we plan to continue doing just that. We’re doing our best to continue the tradition of great library service - a tradition that started before 1908, but which found a new home in that year. In 1908, the building that remains the core of the Main Library in downtown Mansfield was built and dedicated. Technically, the Mansfield Library began years before, and lived in a couple of homes prior to the construction of the current building. Several dedicated women believed that Mansfield needed a bigger library, and that library needed a permanent home, so they made a personal appeal to Andrew Carnegie. He made a matching grant to the city for the library; the money was raised, and the rest, as “they” say, is our history. The building was dedicated on December 18, 1908, and we’ve kept the tradition going since then. The carved inscriptions on the front of the Library tell the story. “Free Public Library,” on the frieze at the top of the building, and “Open To All,” carved above the original front door, are what your Library is all about. Free service to everyone. That’s what makes your Library - and all of Ohio’s libraries special. You don’t have to pay fees for the services you receive. Yes, we receive money from the state’s general revenue fund, and here we have a local operating levy, so I’m using the term “free” loosely - but I think you understand what I’m getting at. Everyone who walks into the library has the same opportunity, the same advantage - a well-run, comfortable, extensive resource for Richland County. You make that happen, and we’ll continue doing what we do - making sure that you have endless possibilities at your Library