What does it actually take to run a two-location public library serving 54,000+ people? Library Director Tony Howard pulls back the curtain on the business behind the books — and why demand is exploding.

In this episode of Cosmos & Commerce, hosts Janis Francis and Michele Cook sit down with Tony Howard, Director of the Pickerington Public Library, for a conversation that reframes what a modern library really is: part small business, part community hub, part economic engine. Tony breaks down the operational reality most people never see — budgets, boards, facilities, HR, and the data-driven decisions behind a major expansion.

We get into the numbers driving the growth (a nearly 200% jump in homework help in a single year), the fight against Ohio's proposed $100M library funding cut, the new branch and just-opened Discovery Pavilio ...