Public Libraries

Question A: Cutting funding from Ohio's public libraries will reduce statewide economic output in the long run.

Question B: Cutting funding from Ohio's public libraries will reduce human capital development of Ohio residents.

Question C: Cutting funding from Ohio's public libraries will reduce formation and longevity of new businesses in Ohio.

Question A: Cutting funding from Ohio's public libraries will reduce statewide economic output in the long run.

Economist	Institution	Opinion	Confidence	Comment
Jonathan Andreas	Bluffton University	Agree	4	I'm not clear how much libraries will increase economic output, and it is probably hard to measure, but I'm sure they help at least a little bit. This was one reason Andrew Carnegie spent a large portion of his fortune on libraries.
David Brasington	University of Cincinnati	Strongly Disagree	9	Libraries are increasingly irrelevant in the information age.
Kevin Egan	University of Toledo	Agree	7	Recently state funding for public libraries is higher for Ohio than other states at about $43 per citizen per year. I think $40 per citizen is efficient funding to increase free accessible education opportunities for all. When my kids were younger we went to the local library weekly to check out books. Ohio libraries are fantastic.
Kenneth Fah	Ohio Dominican University	Agree	8
Bob Gitter	Ohio Wesleyan University	Agree	6	Actually, the cut is from proposed levels and the proposed amount is a bit more than in 2024. The positive impact of more for libraries, however, won't be great. I support more funds for libraries as a wonderful function for the society I would like to see.
Paul Holmes	Ashland University	Disagree	5	(1) I think it's likely that alternative funding will be found to replace a fair amount of this; but more importantly (2) I suspect that most of the benefits of libraries don't show up in (measured forms of) economic output.
Christian Imboden	Bowling Green State University	Uncertain	5
Michael Jones	University of Cincinnati	Uncertain	5
Charles Kroncke	Mount Saint Joseph University	Uncertain	5
Bill LaFayette	Regionomics	Agree	9	Libraries are a clearinghouse for learning and business information that support individuals' training for employment and small business development. Reducing their effectiveness through funding cuts is definitely penny wise and pound foolish.
Trevon Logan	Ohio State University	Agree	7
Joe Nowakowski	Muskingum University	Strongly Agree	10
Ejindu Ume	Miami University	Agree	8
Kathryn Wilson	Kent State University	Agree	4

Question B: Cutting funding from Ohio's public libraries will reduce human capital development of Ohio residents.

Economist	Institution	Opinion	Confidence	Comment
Jonathan Andreas	Bluffton University	Agree	8
David Brasington	University of Cincinnati	Strongly Disagree	8	Other sources of information have made libraries redundant or replaced them.
Kevin Egan	University of Toledo	Agree	7	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.
Kenneth Fah	Ohio Dominican University	Agree	8
Bob Gitter	Ohio Wesleyan University	Agree	7	A slight impact. The literacy, ESL, and maker-space programs help. Not a large effect, though.
Paul Holmes	Ashland University	Agree	8	While I did not agree that economic output would be reduced, I'm convinced libraries do a good job of increasing human capital, particularly for young people and for those that come from lower socioeconomic standing.
Christian Imboden	Bowling Green State University	Uncertain	5
Michael Jones	University of Cincinnati	Uncertain	5
Charles Kroncke	Mount Saint Joseph University	Agree	8
Bill LaFayette	Regionomics	Strongly Agree	9	See above.
Trevon Logan	Ohio State University	Agree	7
Joe Nowakowski	Muskingum University	Strongly Agree	10
Ejindu Ume	Miami University	Strongly Agree	10
Kathryn Wilson	Kent State University	Agree	4

Question C: Cutting funding from Ohio's public libraries will reduce formation and longevity of new businesses in Ohio.

Economist	Institution	Opinion	Confidence	Comment
Jonathan Andreas	Bluffton University	Uncertain	4	The formation of businesses is something that third-world countries are better at than rich countries because poor people are forced to hustle to make money, but that isn't what makes countries rich which is developing economies of scale and technologies. That is something libraries promote by increasing education and the spread of information. So they won't cause the formation of more businesses, but that isn't really what we want. We want the formation of more-productive businesses which is something libraries can help with.
David Brasington	University of Cincinnati	Strongly Disagree	8
Kevin Egan	University of Toledo	Agree	6	Other state policies are probably more important for entrepreneurship but access to free public libraries certainly can help. I have a friend how decided to open his own auto shop after reading several entrepreneurship books.
Kenneth Fah	Ohio Dominican University	Uncertain	8
Bob Gitter	Ohio Wesleyan University	Uncertain	6	Lower taxes would be needed but depresses the quality of life in Ohio.
Paul Holmes	Ashland University	No Opinion	1	I don't see any strong link here.
Christian Imboden	Bowling Green State University	Uncertain	5
Michael Jones	University of Cincinnati	Uncertain	5
Charles Kroncke	Mount Saint Joseph University	Uncertain	8
Bill LaFayette	Regionomics	Strongly Agree	9	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.
Trevon Logan	Ohio State University	Uncertain	8
Joe Nowakowski	Muskingum University	Strongly Agree	10
Ejindu Ume	Miami University	Agree	8
Kathryn Wilson	Kent State University	Agree	4