It’s time to clean out your closet and we’re here to help. Now is the perfect time to clear out and pass on those fancy dresses and accessories you know you’ll never wear again. We’ll take them off your hands and best of all, give them a chance to get adopted by a teen who needs one for prom. Read on for details.
Continue reading “The Best [free] Dress”
This list of picture books is for children, but reading them could also help you survive the month of March. The illustrations are lovely and they all center around what comes with the spring—sunshine, animals, babies, growing things, and even smelly things (see Spring Stinks, below). They will help your little one learn what to expect in the coming months and you can watch spring happen together.
If you don’t have any children to read these books to, that’s fine. Read them yourself, your spouse, or a friend. You’ll get an instant mood lift. They’ll help you remember what spring is like and that it is, indeed, coming soon.
Here’s a book we can all agree on—Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring by Kenard Pak.
Where to find it: JP Pak
In simple text, a young boy watches how nature changes from winter into spring.
When Spring Comes by Kevin Henkes
Where to find it: JP Henkes
Animals and children alike watch as the world transforms from the dark and dead of winter to a full and blooming spring
First Notes of Spring by Jessica Kulekjian
Where to find it: JP Kulekjian
Forest animals stirring from their winter homes and hibernation make a variety of noises to welcome spring.
Spring Stinks by Ryan T. Higgins
Where to find it: JP Higgins
When cheerful Ruth the rabbit tries to share with grumpy Bruce the bear the wonderful smells of spring, they discover that spring stinks.
Spring Sings for the Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle
Where to find it: JP Carle
As new life blossoms during spring, animals are playing outside, the flowers are blooming, and everyone is joyous, even the grouchy ladybug.
Spring Parade by Camelia Kay, illustrated by Howard Allyn
Where to find it: JP Kay
Follow along with Mama and Baby Bunny as they lead a festive parade of their friends through the blossoming flowers and trees, rejoicing at the coming of spring.
Hooray for Spring! by Kazuo Iwamura
Where to find it: JP Iwamura
The three squirrel children, Mick, Mack and Molly are puzzled about what to feed the hungry baby birds.
Any of these uplifting picture books will bring spring into your house and make you feel more optimistic about whatever is happening outside. Put one on hold today or come in and choose from many, many more we have on the shelves.
Which one do you want to read while you wait for spring?
Are you ready for growing season? Have you planned out the fruits, vegetables, and flowers you want to grow? We can help you maximize your gardening potential with our seed library. Keep reading to find out more.
Continue reading “Greener Times Are Coming”
We all knew it was coming and now it’s here: tax time. The clock is ticking down to the April 15th filing deadline. Are you ready? We’re not tax experts, and we can’t prepare your taxes for you, but we can help. Keep reading to find out how.
Continue reading “Time for Taxes”
The Devil in Oxford by Jess Armstrong
Where to find this book at Reed Memorial Library:
With the impending snowstorm, just like you, I grabbed a few books off the shelves in case we got really snowed in. The snowstorm and this book did not disappoint. A solid historical mystery, The Devil in Oxford was a great weekend read.
Continue reading “The Devil in Oxford: A Reed Reads! Book Rec”
Beginning March 1, Reed Memorial Library will reduce operating hours. We’ll open a little later, close a little earlier, and be closed on Sunday. Keep reading to find out why.
Continue reading “Times, (they) are a-changing”
We’ve nearly completed a huge change to our adult fiction shelves. We shelved all of the genres together—mysteries, westerns, science fiction—that had previously been shelved separately. Why did we do this? And why did we do it when we knew it might upset some of you? Hang in there and read why.
Continue reading “Where are my mysteries (and sci-fi and westerns)?”
It’s the season for gifting, and we know that books are the best gift of all. But how to choose the right one? Do you pick the latest bestseller or new release? Maybe gift one of the classics? Our staff came through with some recommendations to help; some new, some old, some timeless titles.
Continue reading “Books to love and to give away”Ohio public libraries are facing a significant reduction in state funding for fiscal years 2026 and 2027 due to changes in the state budget bill (HB 96), signed into law by Governor DeWine in July 2025. Ohio’s fiscal year runs July to June—we are now operating in fiscal year 2026 and experiencing the loss of funds.
In this budget, the funding mechanism for the Public Library Fund (PLF) was changed from a guaranteed 1.7% of the state’s General Revenue Fund (GRF) to a fixed line-item appropriation. This change makes library funding vulnerable to budget cuts, eliminating the previous, stable, percentage-based system.
Ohio reduced the amount available for public libraries in fiscal year 2026 by more than $25 million. The new appropriation includes an annual transfer of over $10 million to support other library-related state entities like the State Library of Ohio and the Ohio Public Library Information Network, who previously received their own line-item appropriations. These transfers are made before funds are distributed to local public libraries, further reducing the net amount available to local systems like ours. Locally, Portage County library funds decreased by nearly $600 thousand and Reed Memorial Library has lost $200 thousand in the current fiscal year.
With these funding changes, state legislators have effectively shifted more financial responsibility to local communities and voters. In communities that value their library, you would suppose the funding changes would result in more effective local support. But proposed changes to local levy rules are expected to have a significant negative impact on public libraries, too.
A bill currently in the Ohio House (HB 137, as of November 2025) would allow county or local taxing authorities to reject a library’s request to place an operating levy on the ballot. Previously, libraries had more autonomy in this process. This change means local elected officials could prevent voters from deciding on library funding issues, regardless of community support. Reed Memorial Library relies on a five-year renewable operating levy that accounts for another 43% of its annual budget.
As if denying levies isn’t enough, Ohio House Bills 309 and 335 (HB309/HB335) would grant full authority to the County Budget Commission to suspend, reduce, and question the need for all property tax revenue. This revenue includes inside millage, outside voted levies, emergency levies, bond levies, etc. In short, although local voters may vote and approve a levy, the state would give local commissions the power to reject that vote and decide that they won’t collect levy funds. Ohio is a local-control state, but the changes being proposed disenfranchise and undermine the rights of local voters in their own community. Furthermore, neither the County, nor any local taxing authority funds public libraries. Voters fund public libraries.
Most Ohio public libraries have only two major sources of revenue – state funding and local property tax levies. Changes to this funding structure will have a significant impact on the services that we provide. Libraries across the state are being forced to adjust their budgets and make difficult funding decisions.
Reed Memorial receives 49% of our annual operating budget from the state. We have responded to the state cuts by renegotiating contracted and subscription services and leaving vacant positions unfilled for now. Additional cuts may be needed in the future as we strive to maintain our current level of programming and library services. Further declines in funding could jeopardize vital services that our community relies on, although, we are doing everything in our power to make sure that does not happen.
Our Library is committed to the residents of the City of Ravenna, Ravenna Township, and the greater Portage County area. We will continue finding ways to cut costs where we can, planning for further changes and an uncertain future. We will also keep you updated on the progress of state and local funding changes and initiatives directly affecting libraries.
If you want to show your support for Ohio’s public libraries, please reach out to your local state representatives and let them know what your library means to you and the community. You can also support us by joining and/or contributing to the Reed Memorial Foundation and the Friends of Reed Memorial Library.
Halloween is over and the gloves are off—the holidays are coming! Get your candy-decorating skills sharpened because it’s time for our annual #GingerbreadMadness contest. Bragging rights and prizes will be awarded for the most creative gingerbread in four categories.
Continue reading “Move over, pumpkin spice – it’s time for ginger”
Sincerely, Cornelius 