Ever since early settlers traded coonskins for books and established, in 1804, the Coonskin Library (now on display at the Ohio Historical Center in Columbus), Ohioans have stressed the importance of the public library system. In 2000, the state public library system of seven regions had 44,766,042 volumes, and a circulation of 144,911,000.
Major public library systems include those of Cincinnati, with 4,721,766 volumes in 1998; Cleveland, 3,782,419; Cuyahoga County, 3,085,123; Dayton, 1,782,419; and Columbus, 2,433,636. Leading academic libraries include those of Ohio State University, over seven million books; Case Western Reserve University, 1,304,852 books; and the University of Cincinnati, over three million books. The State Library of Ohio in Columbus, founded in 1817, provides research and information services for Ohio's state government and agencies with more than two million books and periodicals. Total public libraries income for 2000 came to $680,401,000 (3rd in the nation), including $1,360,802 in federal grants and $49,465,000 in state grants. Per capita spending was the highest in the nation, at $50.05.
Among the state's more than 284 museums are the Museum of Art, Natural History Museum, and Western Reserve Historical Society Museum in Cleveland; the Museum of Natural History, Art Museum, and Taft Museum in Cincinnati; the Dayton Art Institute; and the Center of Science and Industry and Ohio Historical Center in Columbus. The Zanesville Art Center has collections of ceramics and glass made in the Zanesville area. Also noteworthy are the US Air Force Museum near Dayton, the Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum at Wapakoneta, and the Ohio River Museum in Marietta. Cincinnati has a conservatory of rare plants, while Cleveland has botanical gardens and an aquarium; both cities have zoos. The National First Ladies' Library in Canton features the artwork and artifacts of First Lady Caroline Harrison.
Historical sites in Ohio include the Schoenbrunn Village State Memorial, a reconstruction of the state's first settlement by Moravian missionaries, near New Philadelphia; the early-19th-century Piqua Historical Area, with exhibits of Indian culture; and the Fort Meigs reconstruction at Perrysburg. Archaeological sites include the "great circle" mounds, built by the Hopewell Indians at present-day Newark, and Inscription Rock, marked by prehistoric Indians, on Kelley's Island.