June, July, August 2026
The Library Live is a quarterly newsletter featuring news, services, and events at Medina County District Library. Pick up a print copy at any of our seven library locations. View MCDL's hours, locations, and closings. 

Read books, earn prizes, play the Summer Reading Game! Learn more about the games for children, teens, and adults.

Executive Director's Notes

As conversations about property taxes—both locally and across Ohio—continue to evolve, ideas range from reforming the current system to eliminating property taxes altogether. As these discussions progress, it is important to consider how changes would affect local services that our community depends on.

Along with safety, public health, parks, and support for senior citizens and residents with disabilities, public libraries are an essential community service. In Ohio, property taxes provide more than half of all library funding. While libraries receive just 2.5% of total property taxes collected statewide, that small portion has a meaningful impact by supporting access to books and digital resources, early literacy programs, job search assistance, technology access, and welcoming community spaces. For MCDL, this impact is significant.

In 2025, local property taxes, approved by voters in 2017 and running through year-end 2027, accounted for approximately 56% of our operating revenue. This 1.5-mill levy is the only local funding source dedicated to library services. MCDL does not receive funding from county sales or municipal income tax, making voter-approved support essential. This investment allows us to provide the services, collection, and programs that residents of all ages rely on. Without local property tax funds, the library would face immediate and substantial financial challenges, leading to the reduction of items, programs, and services available to our community.

At its core, this is about maintaining access and ensuring that everyone in Medina County continues to have a public library in which to learn, connect, and grow. 

-Julianne Bedel, Executive Director

Events

Browse and register for a wide variety of events for Kids, Tweens (grades 3-5), Teens (grades 6-12), and Adults. Celebrate America 250 with events at all MCDL locations. Medina Library will host the annual Bee Festival and Wizarding Week. Enjoy the creativity of others at an Art Show. Visit the Bookmobile at a special event or scheduled stop. The Book Bike is on a roll; visit it at a community event this summer.

Books & Authors

B.K. Borison, author of the bestselling Heartstrings series (First-Time Caller and And Now, Back to You), will visit Medina Library in June. View lists and be among the first to place holds on upcoming Fiction, Nonfiction, and Teen books. Plus, find out what MCDL's Library Associate Float, Chris, has been recently reading! Visit the Books & Authors page for details.

Featured Services

Literacy & Learning for Children

From Storytimes for babies and children, to Early Literacy Kits, to 1000 Books Before Kindergarten, MCDL has a variety of events and activities to help kids develop a lifelong love of reading. Visit the Kids Services page for details.

eMedia

Download or stream free eBooks, audiobooks, magazines, music, TV and movies using Libby, hoopla, or Kanopy. New to eMedia? Try MCDL Academy MCDL offers video tutorials to help you sign up for and learn to use streaming and downloadable content in minutes. Get started on the eMedia page.

Online Learning

MCDL’s Online Learning collection puts new skills at your fingertips!

ASLdeafined explores basic to advanced ASL signs and grammar, teaches essential vocabulary, and provides opportunities to practice communication skills.

Peterson’s Test Prep helps you prepare for the GED, SAT, ACT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT, TOEFL, U.S. citizenship, the military, and more. It includes ebooks for test prep courses and features in-depth information on college programs and tuition assistance. Career development tools like job-search resources and resumé, networking, and interviewing advice are also available.

Get started with these resources and more on the Research & Learning page.

Meeting Rooms

Meeting rooms can accommodate a variety of activities, from large events to small meetings. Select Medina Library rooms are Hearing Loop enabled. Learn more and reserve a room on the Meeting Room page.

Resources for Educators

MCDL supports educators by offering helpful, time-saving resources to enhance your classroom. Request materials on a research topic, borrow multiple copies of a book for a classroom read, or try an Early Literacy Kit. Educator loan cards provide longer loans for most items. Proctoring is available at all MCDL locations. Visit the Educational Services page for details.

Recording Studio at Lodi Library

Record, compose, and mix your own music, oral history, and podcasts at a Mac computer 
with GarageBand and Reaper software. Visit the Recording Studio page for details.

News & Notes

MCDL Wins $100,000 Federal Grant for Preservation Projects

In 2024, MCDL’s Family History & Learning Center staff identified the National Leadership Grant for Libraries through the IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Services) as a potential funding source for a new scanner for digitizing historical documents. The goal was to partner with local historical societies to examine their unique collections and digitize content. But a project of this size required an upgraded scanner.

Lauren Kuntzman, FHLC Manager says, “We submitted the completed grant on March 10, 2025. A week later, MCDL was informed the grant applications were permanently on hold.” In August, a judge determined money budgeted to IMLS had to be distributed as intended. In September, MCDL received an email that the grant had been awarded in the full $100,000 requested. In October and November, the federal government shut down. In December, MCDL’s initial request for funds was never received. Finally in January 2026, the request was accepted and the grant was dispersed.

What makes this scanner worth the wait? The CopiBook Open System scanner has an 18 x 24 inch scan bed, features cradles that protect pages and bindings of delicate books, and it scans multiple items simultaneously and saves images as individual files. The grant covers the costs of the scanner as well as staff time dedicated to the project.

The FHLC has a queue of items ready to digitize: Sanborn maps of Medina from the 1950s–60s; store ledgers from Granger Township from the 1830s, on loan from the Granger Historical Society; and handwritten record books from the Medina County Historical Society. As items are scanned, they will be made available on the Medina County Memory Project at medinacountymemory.mcdl.info. Check back for new content regularly!

This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Winter Reading Wrap Up

Thank you, adult readers, for making the Winter Reading game so successful this year! We had 973 participants read 11,728 books. Participation prizes included custom library stickers and free books from a Friends of MCDL sale. This year, each library location offered a Book Lovers Bundle prize in addition to the grand prize which was the Book Lovers Bundle with a Kindle Fire and case, stylus, and page turner.

The most read books included: Dear Debbie, The Housemaid, and The Housemaid is Watching; all by Freida McFadden!

Staff Award

Suzie Muniak, MCDL Deputy Director, received the Excellence in Public Service Leadership award at Leadership Medina County’s 35th Anniversary event on March 5. Suzie was nominated based on her extensive community involvement including her leadership in making Medina County a dementia-friendly community, creating Caregiver Kits and having them available at all MCDL locations as a resource for new parents and caregivers, her contributions to Living Well Medina County and determination to bring needed health education to the county, and her board member duties for Project: LEARN. 

Survey Completes Strategic Plan

Thank you to the more than 2,500 respondents to our Strategic Plan survey. It is clear you love our collection, appreciate the technology we provide, and value events for all ages. In the past three years you have grown to appreciate our meeting rooms, Makerspace, and online databases even more. Thank you for helping shape the Strategic Plan and recognizing our efforts to exceed expectations now and into the future.

Library Match Wits Team

MCDL’s top minds “followed the yellow brick road” to a first-place finish at Project: LEARN’s Wizard of Oz themed trivia night fundraiser on April 23. The event, held at Williams on the Lake, featured teams of eight competing for the coveted title of Match Wits Winners. The event raises funds for Project: LEARN’s adult education services, which hold their ESOL courses at Medina and Brunswick Libraries. Deputy Director, Suzie Muniak, serves on their Board of Directors.

Staff Graduates

Congratulations to our graduates! MCDL is proud of your accomplishments.

• Leadership Medina County - Allison Gaebelein, Fiscal Officer
• Graduate School - Sam Edgerton, Medina Customer Service Clerk
• Undergraduate School - Mack Fisher, Medina Page
• Highschool - Ryan Cupedro, Lodi Page
• Highschool - Griffin Lucius, Medina Page

Spring StoryWalk®

StoryWalk promotes literacy, physical activity, and spending time together as a family. Each season brings a new story. Watch for Dinosaur Day by Diana Murray on June 1. Take a walk and enjoy a story at these MCDL and partnership locations:

• Brunswick & Highland Libraries
• Medina County Park District, Carolyn Ludwig Mugrage Park, 4985 Windfall Rd., Medina
• Medina City Schools, Northrop Elementary, 950 E. Reagan Pkwy., Medina

Board of Trustees

The Library is governed by a seven-member Board of Trustees. Board members are appointed for four-year terms by either Medina County Commissioners or the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas. Board members serve without remuneration. 

Friends of MCDL

Friends book sales and fundraisers support youth literacy in Medina County. View book sales and more at friendsofmcdl.info.