Greene County Public Library

The Greene County Public Library serves the communities of Greene County, Ohio (located east of Dayton, Ohio). The library system's administrative offices are in Xenia, and other branches are located in Beavercreek, Cedarville, Fairborn, Jamestown, Bellbrook, and Yellow Springs. Greene County Library is a member of the Miami Valley Libraries, one of eleven regional library cooperatives in Ohio.

In 2007, the library loaned more than 2.5 million items to its over 90,000 cardholders, making it the 10th busiest library in Ohio. Total holdings are over 607,000 volumes with more than 500 periodical subscriptions. As of 2007, the Greene County Public Library employs 58 full-time and 161 part-time staff.

The library system has a bookmobile, from which children have borrowed over 26,000 items. Other features of the library system include child care centers, story time, special programs for children and teens, and serving homebound patrons.

Greene County’s Public Library System has been named one of the "Great American Public Library Systems" by HAPLR (Hennen's American Public Library Ratings). It has ranked in the top ten in the nation for libraries of its size and population served (100,000–250,000) in 2002 (6th), 2003 (9th), and 2004 (8th).

Ohio’s public libraries are funded through 2.22% of the state’s total general tax revenue. The funding is projected to generate approximately $462 million for all Ohio’s public libraries to share in calendar year 2008, and $465 million in 2009. The Greene County Public Library receives approximately 75% of its income from the State of Ohio.

The Greene County Public Library system also receives about 20% of its funding through a 1 mil property tax levy from Greene County residents. Remaining income is generated from fines, fees, and interest earned on investments.

The first library in Greene County was founded in 1878 when the Young Women's Library Association (YWLA) was organized. They operated a small library in a room donated by Eli Millen, located on Greene Street in Xenia. Funding came from subscriptions from YWLA members. In 1881, the YWLA incorporated under the name Xenia Library Association. In 1885 they hired their first librarian, Clara Martin, for $6.25 per month.

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