Blanchester Public Library

Blanchester Public Library An organizational meeting of concerned citizens was held on this date at the home of H.O. Craig with State Librarian Paul Noon in attendance.

History of the Blanchester Public Library

The Blanchester area has been served by libraries of one form or another dating back to the Civil War, but the official founding date of the Blanchester Public Library is May 25, 1935. The first Board of Trustees was elected and state funds were promised. The new library opened Feb. 15, 1936 in a rented room in the Gibson Building on West Main Street with

1,147 books and May Reeder as the first librarian. Alden Shawhan, a library board member who died in 1944, left money in his will to construct a new library building. The library eventually did receive the money, but due to a controversy over the will, the new building at the current location did not open until Nov. 4, 1957. The library more than doubled in space to its current size of 7,500 square feet with an addition in 1988-89. An open house to celebrate the new building was held on Sept. 10, 1989. The Blanchester Public Library, like most public libraries in Ohio, receives the majority of its funding from the state's Public Library Fund. Local voters approved a 1.0 mill operating levy for the library in 1996 and renewed it in 2001 and 2006. Funds from this levy provided about 15 percent of the library's operating budget. The library sought an increase to a 2.0-mill, continuing levy in the spring of 2010, and voters resoundingly approved it by a 63 to 37 percent margin. The library began receiving funds from this levy in 2011, and it provides nearly 40 percent of the annual operating revenue. These funds are indispensable in allowing the library to meet an increasing demand from patrons as monies from the state continue to decrease. The library is one of the nine founding members of the Consortium Of Ohio Libraries (COOL) and in March 2013 went live on the Evergreen system. The move to an open-source circulation system will help the library maintain costs in the future while also providing patrons quick access to about 400,000 items. COOL currently consists of 11 small libraries. Today, the library features more than 55,000 items and nearly 10,000 registered cardholders.

Tweens and teens, join us for today's hangouts where we will have fun with origami! Enjoy snacks, chit-chat, and this f...
06/23/2026

Tweens and teens, join us for today's hangouts where we will have fun with origami! Enjoy snacks, chit-chat, and this fun craft!

Join us for Storytimes this week! 🦖 Children will have fun with an activity or craft to take home after a few stories, s...
06/23/2026

Join us for Storytimes this week! 🦖 Children will have fun with an activity or craft to take home after a few stories, songs, and a snack. Visit our page for our summer Storytime schedule!

Don't forget, today is the day to pick up free breakfast and lunch meals from 2 p.m. - 6 p.m.! This summer food service ...
06/22/2026

Don't forget, today is the day to pick up free breakfast and lunch meals from 2 p.m. - 6 p.m.! This summer food service program is open to anyone 18 years of age and under and runs every Monday through August 19.

CONGRATULATIONS to our First Adult Summer Reading Drawing winners! 🎉 Winners can pick up their prizes at the desk!Our 3 ...
06/22/2026

CONGRATULATIONS to our First Adult Summer Reading Drawing winners! 🎉 Winners can pick up their prizes at the desk!

Our 3 Book Review winners are:
Karen Kasten - Picnic Blanket
Virginia Behymer - Pickleball Set
Mary Shivener - Flameless Candle Diffuser

Our Name That Plant Trivia winner is:
Ivy Young - Houseplant Essentials Kit

Our next round of Which U.S. State? Trivia and Book Review winners will be drawn on July 11.

Adults, you have until July 11 to turn in your Which U.S. State? Trivia entries and Book Reviews to be eligible to win g...
06/22/2026

Adults, you have until July 11 to turn in your Which U.S. State? Trivia entries and Book Reviews to be eligible to win great prizes! We will randomly draw 1 winner from the Which U.S. State? Trivia entries and 3 winners from the Book Review slips. All entries will also go into the Grand Prize Drawing on August 1 for the Grand Prize and Runners-Up Prizes.

06/21/2026
06/19/2026

Adults, you have until 3 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday, June 20) to get your Name That Plant trivia sheet and your first round of Book Review slips turned in to be entered to win one of these great prizes! All entries will also go into our Grand Prize Drawing on August 1 for the K-Duo Keurig coffee maker as well as three Runners-Up prizes of $50 gift cards to Kroger, UDF, and Jimmy John’s.

At 2 p.m. today, see an afternoon movie at the library! Enjoy popcorn and juice while watching this familiar animated fa...
06/19/2026

At 2 p.m. today, see an afternoon movie at the library! Enjoy popcorn and juice while watching this familiar animated favorite. Can you guess what movie we'll be watching? 🍿 All ages are welcome at this FREE event!

Find out more and see if you guessed which movie we are showing at www.blanlibrary.org.

06/18/2026

UPDATE: Phone services and internet access have been restored. Thank you for your patience today!
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The library's phone service and internet are down. We apologize for the inconvenience. We are still open but services are limited. We are able to check out library materials, and library programs will run as scheduled.

We will post updates when we have additional information. Thank you.

Send a message to learn more

Learn about Caring for Seedlings at the library tonight at 6 p.m.! 🌱 During this workshop, Nellie Rowland from Central ...
06/18/2026

Learn about Caring for Seedlings at the library tonight at 6 p.m.! 🌱 During this workshop, Nellie Rowland from Central State University Extension will teach you everything you need to know about seedling care.

Address

110 N Broadway Street
Blanchester, OH
45107

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 7pm
Tuesday 10am - 7pm
Wednesday 10am - 7pm
Thursday 10am - 7pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 3pm

Telephone

(937) 783-3585

Website

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