After slashing a popular reading program from the budget, Gov. Mike Braun said Friday he asked First Lady Maureen Braun to spearhead an initiative to keep Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Indiana.

“She has agreed and she will work with philanthropic partners and in consultation with state leadership to identify funding opportunities for the book distribution program,” the governor said in a news release.

The program gifts free, high quality, age-appropriate books to children from birth to age five on a monthly basis, regardless of family income.

Former Gov. Eric Holcomb included a statewide expansion of the program in his 2023 legislative agenda. The General Assembly earmarked $6 million for the program in the state’s last biennial budget — $2 million in the first year and $4 million in the second — to ensure that all Hoosier kids qualify to receive free books.

But when Gov. Braun prepared his budget proposal in January he discontinued the funding as part of an overall effort to rein in state spending.

“I am honored to lead this work to help ensure our youngest Hoosiers have as much exposure as possible to books and learning,” said First Lady Maureen Braun. “Indiana has many strong community partners and I am confident we will collaborate on a solution that grows children’s love of reading.”

Jeff Conyers, president of The Dollywood Foundation, said he appreciates Braun’s commitment to early childhood literacy.

“The Imagination Library brings the joy of reading to over 125,000 Hoosier children each month in all 92 counties across the state, and we are encouraged by Governor and First Lady Braun’s support to ensure its future in Indiana. We look forward to working with the Governor and First Lady, state leaders, and Local Program Partners to keep books in the hands of Indiana’s youngest learners and strengthen this foundation for a lifetime of success,” he said.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com.

Ohio’s public library staff and supporters are standing behind their systems, and hope the two-dozen levies hitting ballots on Nov. 7 garner support from voters, even as some try to censor and control the work they do.

For whose library systems have levies on the ballot in the upcoming general election, the support of the voters means a continued evolution of the programs and facilities, something that started with things like books, magazines and print newspapers, and now includes tablets, 3D printers and outreach centers for employment and public assistance services.

“Books will always be a part of our collection and part of our services,” said Karla Bowman, deputy director of the Euclid Public Library in Cuyahoga County. “But we have also seen people use our building as more of a community center.”

Euclid has two levies on the ballot, one that would renew their 5.6-mill operating levy, and a 1.5-mill additional measure, that the library intends to use on permanent improvements.

Bowman said the aging library is in need of repairs to their HVAC systems and the roof to keep the buildings up to snuff as their visitor counts continue to rise.

In 2022, they had an average of 14,086 customers per month through the doors in Euclid, and in 2023 that monthly average rose to more than 17,500.

“(The permanent improvement levy) will make the building better suited for the future,” Bowman told the Capital Journal.

The system, along with many of Ohio’s libraries have had a targeted focus on learning loss, a focus is still at the forefront, even as the height of the pandemic fades into the rearview mirror.

Euclid is one of the nine library systems part of the program, which includes targeted literacy and reading challenges, available because of grant from the Ohio Department of Education.

Trying to keep up with needs of library-goers means the idea of a rare few residents, or even , raising concerns about the content available at libraries isn’t front of mind for many leaders at Ohio public libraries.

“The goal of the public library is to provide access to information to everyone in the community,” said Michelle Francis, executive director of the Ohio Library Council, which represents more than 250 public library system and their staff. “It’s not just one person in the community who gets to decide what everyone else gets to access.”

Francis said breeding controversy over content isn’t a new thing for libraries. Two decades ago, when the internet was becoming a broad part of life, she said there was concern about children’s access. But it was dealt with then, most notably through the of 2000.

With social media connecting many more people than, say, 23 years ago, what’s changed is the ability for residents of other states to bring about concerns that then make their way to public libraries in Ohio. Still, Francis says the library’s responsibility is to provide accessible information to as many communities as possible.

“There are people who may have a concern or question about library materials, but at the end of the day, the public library is the anchor institution in the community,” Francis told the Capital Journal.

That institution has the support of state funding through a public library fund, but that funding amounts to about half of what a typical Ohio library needs to keep the place running. That’s where property taxes come into play.

“For the libraries that are doing renewals, they rely on those funds to provide services at a local level,” Francis said.

Not every library has the ability to provide wraparound services like homework help centers or certain after-school programs, but in their own unique ways, library are able to support their specific communities in ever-expanding ways, according to Francis.

“Libraries have really become a place that will meet you where you are,” she said.

This includes library IT staff acting as “digital navigators” to help Ohioans learn how to use new devices and even bring things like mobile maker spaces, meetings rooms for tele-health sessions and equipment rental programs where they’re needed.

“We have some libraries with a library of things, with stuff like orange cones, so parents can teach their kids how to drive without having to go to a store and buy them,” Francis said. “We’ve seen how our patrons, their patterns have changed and we’ve had this evolution of services.”

To see if a local library has a levy in your area, check your or your local board of elections website.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Ohio Capital Journal maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor David DeWitt for questions: info@ohiocapitaljournal.com. Follow Ohio Capital Journal on and .