For the last several years, the term “regionalism” has been heard around Northeastern Ohio. With the economic downturn, it’s been heard more frequently and with more urgency. The idea behind regionalism is that by working cooperatively to provide services, local government agencies could realize more cost effective use of tax dollars.
The 31 CLEVNET libraries have already been working cooperatively across northern Ohio for 27 years. A recent study by respected economic analysts Driscoll & Fleeter shows that this kind of regional cooperation works, and works effectively. For every dollar spent by a member library for CLEVNET services, there was a $6.00 return on investment. This represents a collective cost savings of over $30 million dollars! While experiencing significant losses in funding at the local and state levels, membership in CLEVNET enables the member libraries to bring their customers superior library services though this efficient use of revenues.