Dayton Metro Library


Dayton Metro Library is a multi-branch library system serving 531,687 residents of the Dayton Metropolitan Area. It has 18 locations across the area. Around 4.8 million items were borrowed in 2024. In 2010, the Dayton Metro Library ranked in the top ten best libraries in the United States serving a population of over 250,000 by HAPLR. The Dayton Metro Library system is considered a county system with branches in cities and towns throughout Montgomery County, Ohio, but does not have branches in Centerville, Germantown, Oakwood, Riverside or Washington Township. All are serviced by libraries of their own, save Riverside, various parts of which are geographically close to Dayton Metro Library locations, including Burkhardt, Electra C. Doren and Huber Heights.
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History

Library service in Dayton began in 1805 with the Social Library Society of Dayton. The Society was also the first library to be incorporated in Ohio. The Society was dissolved in 1821 and books were sold at auction.
In 1847, the Dayton Library Association was established. This lasted until 1860 when it merged with the Public School Library, founded in 1855. After this merger, the Dayton Public Library's affairs were overseen by three members of the Library Committee of the Dayton Board of Education. In 1887, the Dayton Public Library was organized as a school district library operating under an independent non-partisan Library Board. A new building was opened in Cooper Park in January 1888. A museum of natural history was opened inside the building in 1893, at which point the library's name was changed to the Dayton Public Library and Museum. Bookmobile service began in October 1923. In 1948, the library changed in legal form from a school district library to a county district library.
In November 1956, after the museum collections were officially transferred from the library to the recently established Dayton Society of Natural History, the library officially changed its name to the Dayton and Montgomery County Public Library. A new $2.3 million building was constructed for the Main Library in 1960, with groundbreaking taking place on August 29. The new building, adjacent to the old building, opened on March 26, 1962, and is still in use today. The Dayton and Montgomery County Public Library name stayed on until June 19, 2002, when it officially changed its name to the Dayton Metro Library. A new logo and website were unveiled in January 2003. Another new website was unveiled in December 2014, featuring a new library logo, overall new design and a number of new functionalities.

Reconstruction

In November 2012, Dayton, Ohio area voters passed Issue 70, a $187 million bond issue covering building and renovation, with a vote of over 60% support. The project allowed for a completely renovated main branch of the library, expansion and/or remodeling and renovation on a number of existing branches, entirely new facilities for certain locations, and the consolidation of certain underperforming and outdated facilities with larger, modernized branches. The Dayton Daily News reported on this levy and said "the plan would change libraries from 'books and bricks' into community centers designed to provide traditional library services, as well as the latest technology."
On March 20, 2013, it was announced that a re-examination of the plan had determined that in certain cases new libraries could be built rather than expanding or renovating certain branches, without increasing the cost of the plan. As such, it was determined that the Brookville, Miamisburg, New Lebanon, Northmont and Trotwood Branches would all be moved to new buildings, rather than being renovated/expanded. The renovated and new facilities were originally expected to be completed by year-end 2017, though delays in construction and property acquisition moved this back to June 2023, when the new Huber Heights Branch Library officially opened.

Branches

  • Brookville Branch, 120 Blue Pride Drive, Brookville
  • Burkhardt Branch, 4704 Burkhardt Ave.
  • Electra C. Doren Branch, 701 Troy St.
  • Huber Heights Branch, 6243 Brandt Pike, Huber Heights
  • Kettering Moraine Branch, 3496 Far Hills Ave., Kettering
  • Main Library, 215 E. 3rd St.
  • Miami Township Branch, 2718 Lyons Rd., Miamisburg
  • Miamisburg Branch, 545 E. Linden Ave., Miamisburg
  • New Lebanon Branch, 715 W. Main St., New Lebanon
  • Northmont Branch, 700 W. National Rd., Englewood
  • Northwest Branch, 2410 Philadelphia Dr.
  • Operations Center, 120 S. Patterson Blvd. '
  • Outreach Services, 120 S. Patterson Blvd. '
  • Southeast Branch, 21 Watervliet Ave.
  • Trotwood Branch, 855 E. Main St., Trotwood
  • Vandalia Branch, 330 S. Dixie Dr., Vandalia
  • West Branch, 300 Abbey Ave.
  • West Carrollton Branch, 300 E. Central Ave., West Carrollton
  • Wilmington-Stroop Branch, 3980 Wilmington Pike, Kettering

Past Branches

  • Belmont Branch, 1041 Watervliet Ave.
  • Brookville Branch, 425 Rona Parkway, Brookville
  • Burkhardt Branch, 4680 Burkhardt Ave.
  • Dayton Mall Mini-Branch Library
  • Dayton View Branch, 1515 Salem Ave.
  • East Branch, 2008 Wyoming St.
  • East Carnegie Branch, 2160 E Fifth St.
  • Ft. McKinley Branch, 3735 Salem Ave.
  • Genealogy Center, 359 Maryland Ave.
  • Hills and Dales Branch, Kettering.
  • Huber Heights Branches, Huber Heights.
  • Madden Hills Branch, 2542 Germantown St.
  • Miamisburg Branch, 35 S. Fifth St., Miamisburg
  • New Lebanon Branch, 715 W. Main St., New Lebanon
  • Northmont Branch, 333 W. National Rd., Englewood
  • Northtown-Shiloh Branch, 35 Bennington Dr.
  • Outreach Services, 2293 Arbor Blvd.
  • Temporary Main, 120 S. Patterson Blvd.
  • Trotwood Branch, 651 E. Main St., Trotwood
  • Vandalia Branch, 500 S. Dixie Dr., Vandalia
  • West Carnegie Branch, 1612 West Fifth Street.
  • Westwood Branch, 3207 Hoover Ave.

Issue 70 Branch changes

Under the ten-year bond issue, Issue 70, passed by voters, the branch structure will be modified as follows:
  • Main Library, Kettering-Moraine Branch, Miami Township Branch, West Carrollton Branch, Wilmington-Stroop Branch
  • Belmont Branch & East Branch
  • Electra C. Doren Branch
  • Brookville Branch, Burkhardt Branch, Huber Heights Branch, Miamisburg Branch, New Lebanon Branch, Northmont Branch, Trotwood Branch, Vandalia Branch
  • Dayton View Branch, Ft. McKinley Branch, Northtown-Shiloh Branch
  • Madden Hills Branch, Westwood Branch

Information technology

At one time, borrower's cards used at Dayton Metro Library use the nearly 40-year-old Codabar barcode format, with the symbol 'A' preceding and following the account number in the barcode proper. As of at least the early 2000s, all cards issued begin with the sequence 10060 or 10061, followed by 8 digits, with the exception of online-only cards, which begin with the sequence 10065 or 10066.
As of 2012, the Dayton Metro Library's catalog operates under the Polaris system, but had previously used Horizon from 2003 to 2012, which was no longer offering software updates. Prior to this, it had used DRA from 1985.
The Library offers a unique Dial-A-Story services that provides 24/7 access to recorded content. Patrons can call 937-250-7500 from any phone and use the menu to navigate to various recordings. Children will especially enjoy story time on Dial-A-Story as it requires no internet access to use.

Primary sources

  • Dayton Metro Library Collection. Dayton Metro Library, Dayton, Ohio.