BOWLING GREEN — Visitors to the Wood County District Public Library may see the director checking out books for patrons at the Bowling Green or Walbridge branches.

“Things are tight,” said Director Michael Penrod, discussing budget cuts due to state funding at the Sept. 15 board meeting.

The board, which hadn’t met since early summer, heard how the state budget, signed by the governor July 1, has impacted the library.

“The statehouse fundamentally changed how we are funded,” Mr. Penrod said. “They ended a revenue-sharing partnership ... where we were a percent of general revenue. They moved us to a flat line item.”

The General Assembly set the line-item appropriation for the public library fund at $490 million in fiscal year 2026 and $500 million in fiscal year 2027. In addition, legis

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