Public Library Boundaries

Public Library boundaries in Ohio are generally defined by the law under which the library was originally established.  There are seven different types of public libraries defined in the Ohio Revised Code: Association, County, County District, Municipal, School District, Township and Regional.  More detailed information about the different types of public libraries can be found here. A library's boundaries will typically be equal to the boundaries of the taxing authority under which it was formed, for example a school district library will have boundaries equal to the school district it serves.  County district libraries typically have their boundaries defined by the resolution creating them. However, since the State Library Board has the authority to redefine public library boundaries, it is possible that a library's boundaries may have been changed sometime during its existence.  Libraries considering placing a levy on the ballot should contact the State Library early in the process to determine if any adjustments have been made to the library's boundaries.

Current Boundaries

We have developed a spreadsheet containing a written description of public library boundaries currently on file at the State Library. In many cases the definition is taken from a State Library Board Resoultion defining the library boundaries. If no such resolution is on file the boundary is assumed to be equal to the boundary of the political subdivision under which the library was formed. Please note that a question mark beside your boundary definition means that the information on file with the State Library is either unclear or your library is an association library and therefore the State Library has no authority to determine your library district boundaries.

School District Maps

The majority of public library boundaries follow school district lines. A statewide map of school districts is available on the Public Utlities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) website: http://www.puc.state.oh.us/pucogis/statemap/sdist_e.pdf

School district maps by county are also available on the PUCO website: http://www.puc.state.oh.us/pucogis/sd2007_pdf/SD2007.HTML

Procedures for adjusting, defining or redefining public library Boundaries 

The State Library Board is given the authority to define library boundaries upon the request of libraries or when questions arise because of school district consolidations under  Ohio Revised Code section 3375.01 .  The Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) outlines the procedures which must be followed to define or redefine a library's boundaries.  Those procedures are contained in OAC sections 3375-4 and vary slightly depending on the type of request as outlined below:

The procedure for establishing a new county district library is outlined in OAC 3375-4-01.  
**A library wishing to become a county district library should contact the State Library for a copy of the Handbook for Reorganizing as a County District Library.

The procedure for determining county district library boundaries is outlined in OAC 3375-4-02.

The procedure for redefining county district library boundaries when questions subsequently arise as a result of school district consolidation is outlined in OAC 3375-4-03.

The procedure for redefining and adjusting boundaries and resolving other questions relating to a public library district upon consolidation of school districts is outlined in OAC 3375-4-04.

The procedure for amending, defining and adjusting library boundaries upon the application of one more library districts is outlined in OAC 3375-4-05.

In addition to the procedure outlined in the appropriate Ohio Administrative Code Section, libraries applying for boundary determinations should also provide the State Librarian with the following: 

•     Adopted resolution of the library board requesting redefinition of boundaries;
•     Documentation of current services to any new area in the proposed redefinition;
•     Documentation of planned services to any new area in the proposed redefinition;
•     A long range plan of service for the library
•     Demographics of current and proposed areas;
•     Library service statistics deemed relevant to the request;
•     Evidence of communication/cooperation with other libraries in the county or contiguous counties whose boundaries will be altered as a result of the redefinition.

Official requests for library boundary determinations should be sent to the State Librarian at the following address:

or via email with "Attention: Boundary Issue" in the subject line to  bcain@library.ohio.gov

For questions regarding your library's boundaries or to find out more information regarding the procedure outlined above please contact: