Muskingum County Library System renewal levy on November ballot

ZANESVILLE, Ohio- The Muskingum County Library System is asking for the community’s support in the upcoming November election. Executive Director of the library system, Jennifer Spillman, is asking voters to approve a renewal with a 0.25 increase for a five-year continuous levy.

Spillman said nearly a third of the money the library receives is from voters. The levy was created back in 2009 and was approved again in 2014.

“We serve the entire county with our library system, and 60% of those people have library cards, so we really impact a lot of peoples literacy,” Spillman said. “And children are really an important focus for us here at the library. It’s so important because we need to maintain this level of service that we’ve been able to provide our community,” she added.
Spillman also said that for every property valued at $100,000, taxpayers currently pay $30 a year. The increase will add eight more dollars, making it a total of $38 a year.

Spillman said the library wants to maintain their services and add new ones, such as technology advancements, 24/7 WiFi access even in the library parking lots, and add an outreach department.
“We want to further our reach because a lot of people cant come to us so we want to come to them. This extra funding will help us do that. We want to be able to support our community through our library system the way that we always have been,” Spillman said.

The library will kick off their summer reading program on June 2nd at the John McIntire Library with entertainment, food, and prizes. For more information visit their website at muskingumlibrary.org.