October 8, 2026
By Rachel Scofield
On Nov. 3, voters will decide whether to approve a 1.5-mill continuing levy for the Pickerington Public Library. The levy would provide additional local revenue for library operations, services, staffing, collections, technology, facilities and long-term financial planning. It also would help provide the financial support needed for the library’s plans to replace its leased Sycamore Plaza location with a larger, permanent branch on Refugee Road.
For a property with a $300,000 market value, the proposed levy would cost approximately $13.25 per month, or $159 per year(53 per year for every $100,000). The library’s existing levy, approved by voters in 2018, costs approximately $4.50 per month, or $54 per year, to the owner of a $300,000 home.
Property owners can use the Fairfield County Auditor’s estimated tax calculator to determine the potential impact on a specific property. Visit www.co.fairfield.oh.us/
The proposed levy is a continuing levy, meaning it would not have a set expiration date. Library Director Tony Howard said that the library anticipates approximately $25 million in financing for a new branch, but voters are not being asked to approve a $25 million bond issue. The proposed levy would provide ongoing revenue to support facilities and operations for the entire Pickerington Public Library system.
Current financial projections estimate that the proposed levy would generate approximately $4.1 million annually beginning in 2027.
“Based on the assumptions we’re using today, we believe the 1.5 mills provides a sustainable path for both the financing obligation and the Library’s long-term operations,” Howard said.
The New Building on Refugee Road
The proposed 28,000-square-foot branch is planned for Refugee Road between Milnor Road and the Springcreek Drive intersection. It would replace the current Sycamore Plaza Library, which operates in leased space. The Main Library on Opportunity Way would remain open.
Plans for the new branch include a makerspace, sensory room, dedicated teen space, large and small meeting spaces, a community stair designed for theater-style seating, an outdoor terrace and additional space for collections, programs, study and community use.
The library’s projected timeline calls for design to continue through 2026, construction to begin in spring 2027 and the branch to open in summer 2028.
Response to Increasing Demand
“Several years ago, the Board recognized that our community was continuing to grow, the way people use libraries was changing, and our facilities needed to be evaluated with an eye toward the next generation,” Howard said. “We deliberately chose a data-driven approach rather than making those decisions based simply on what I thought, what our staff thought, or what the Board thought.”
To that end, the library commissioned a comprehensive Facilities Master Plan. The process examined the physical condition of the facilities, usage trends, space needs, comparisons with peer libraries and input from staff and the community.
“The goal was really to answer a larger question: What will Pickerington Public Library need in order to serve this community well for the next 20 or 30 years? We wanted to make sure we weren’t making multimillion-dollar facility decisions based on assumptions,” Howard said.
The Board brought in professionals to study the existing facilities, library usage, space allocation and compare Pickerington’s libraries to those in other communities.
“Just as importantly, we held five public Q&A sessions to hear what our community needed from its library, and we asked our staff for their input as well,” Howard said.
That process identified population growth as one of the biggest challenges facing the library and stressed specific needs including additional children’s and teen spaces, study rooms, meeting and programming space, technology, flexible spaces and other services.
Library usage has changed significantly since voters approved the last levy in 2018. Comparing 2018 with 2025, the library reports that digital circulation increased 143%, reference assistance increased 153%, program participation increased 31.5%, visits increased about 5% and physical circulation increased 3.4%.
The experts recommended that the Library improve and expand the Main Branch and to replace the Sycamore Plaza location with a larger facility specifically designed to fit the community’s needs.
“The larger branch that will replace Sycamore Plaza is partly why we need additional revenue now, but the Library also has to operate that building and our existing facilities for decades to come,” Howard said. “We’re asking voters to provide sustainable funding for the Library system, not simply to pay for construction.”
Libraries offer much more than Books
For people who haven’t visited the library recently, the range of services available may be broader than expected.
“We love the Pickerington Library and will continue to support it and take advantage of all it has to offer,” said patron Shannon Skidmore.
Skidmore said she regularly checks out books and audiobooks, participates in art classes and recently joined the Shorts & Stouts Book Club, which meets at Combustion Brewery & Taproom at 7 p.m. the second Thursday of each month.
When her son, Michael, was in high school, he also used the library’s free experience passes to take his girlfriend to places like the Franklin Park Conservatory and Columbus Museum of Art.
Violet Township resident Ian Anderson said his family visits one of the Pickerington library branches at least once a week.
“It has been wonderful for all of us but in particular my 11-year-old daughter,” Anderson said. “Goldberry is a voracious reader who can finish a youth chapter book in one day. I’d have to get a second job if we had to pay for all the books that we borrow.”
Anderson said his wife frequently reserves books for herself and enjoys the digital library resources.
Pickerington library card holders can request materials from the catalogs of other Ohio libraries through state networks. Digital resources include e-books and audiobooks, animated storybooks, foreign language apps and more.
The Anderson family has used the free experience passes to visit Dawes Arboretum near Newark and the National Veterans Memorial and Museum in Columbus. They have also checked out activity bags. When their 8-year-old son, Gus, was younger, they borrowed homeschooling materials.
“We don’t homeschool but it was a lot harder for him to learn how to read so I checked out word games and we played them together,” Anderson said.
For Sarah, who declined to provide her last name, the library has become part of her weekly routine.
She attends storytime with her 3-year-old son, Graham, on days when he doesn’t have preschool, and the family visits the library at least once a week to get new books, play with the toys and borrow board games.
“They even have fun stuff for adults to borrow like pickleball paddles,” she said. “Before I moved to Pickerington, I didn’t realize that libraries had game kits!”
The “Library of Things” also includes Memory Care Kits for older adults, mobile hotspots, nature backpacks, STEAM-to-Go kits, ukuleles, video games and other materials.
Help for students, job seekers and more
The library also operates a Homework Help Center serving the entire Pickerington Local School District.
The service differs from traditional tutoring because its purpose is to help students complete specific assignments from their classroom teachers. Library staff and volunteers can assist with homework in many subjects and grade levels and can direct students to additional resources when more individualized assistance is needed.
Available resources include free printing for school assignments, school supplies, Chromebooks, laptops, graphing calculators, counting chips, flashcards, ACT, SAT and AP test-preparation guides, copies of most required PLSD reading books and review guides.
For job seekers, library staff can help with resumes, assist customers who need help navigating online job listings and applications, and support local job fairs.
The library also provides digital resources, public Wi-Fi and computers, research assistance, programs, and meeting spaces.
The $4.45 Difference
According to the library’s analysis, for every $1 of library funding, residents can access an estimated $4.45 worth of services and resources they might otherwise have to purchase.
The figure represents the value of services residents can access through the library — including books and other materials, digital resources, technology, programs, research tools, homework help and other services — rather than having to purchase those resources individually.
The “$4.45 Difference” is a measure of community value, not a claim that taxpayers receive $4.45 in cash for every dollar they pay.
Howard said the library has invested in existing facilities, expanded services as demand has changed, planned for growth and maintained responsible reserves.
“But transparency also means being willing to say when the numbers no longer work long term,” Howard said.
The library’s financial projections indicate that maintaining the current level of service is already becoming more difficult with today’s revenue. Without additional funding, we cannot responsibly finance and operate the larger branch that will replace Sycamore Plaza while maintaining even that level of service across the Library system, according to Howard.