In a survey released this morning by Scioto Analysis, 11 out of 14 economists surveyed agreed that cutting funding from Ohio's public libraries will reduce human capital development of Ohio residents. This comes after the Ohio House passed its budget proposal which allocates about $90 million less for public libraries than in the Governor’s proposed budget.
Kevin Egan from the University of Toledo agreed with this statement, saying “Both of my children still love to read due to our weekly local public library visits. Every time we went to the public library it was full of citizens utilizing its resources: many different types of human capital development beyond just reading, including public access to computers for online job applications and resume preparation; study rooms for students to prepare for their classes and do homework, helpful staff to locate whatever you are interested in learning.” David Brasington from the University of Cincinnati disagreed, saying “Other sources of information have made libraries redundant or replaced them.”
When asked about the impact that libraries have on small businesses, economists were split. Five respondents agreed that cutting funding from Ohio's public libraries will reduce formation and longevity of new businesses in Ohio, one disagreed, and eight were either uncertain or had no opinion. One of the economists who agreed was Bill LaFayette from the firm Regionomics, who wrote “Libraries have a wealth of information relevant to understanding markets and competitors, and business operation. Librarians have the training and experience to help people access and understand this information.”
The Ohio Economic Experts Panel is a panel of over 30 Ohio Economists from over 30 Ohio higher educational institutions conducted by Scioto Analysis. The goal of the Ohio Economic Experts Panel is to promote better policy outcomes by providing policymakers, policy influencers, and the public with the informed opinions of Ohio’s leading economists. Individual responses to all surveys can be found here.