Treasurer Mandel Partners with the State Library of Ohio to Publish Centuries of Online Annual Financial Reports
OhioMBE – March 1, 2015
As part of Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel’s mission to create a more open and transparent government, the Ohio Treasurer’s office is pleased to announce a partnership with the State Library of Ohio to present an online compilation of Annual Reports published by the Treasurer’s office since the early 1800s.
This collaborative project leverages technology to increase the accessibility of this historical collection to constituents, historians and researchers. The Treasurer’s office is the first statewide agency to partner with the State Library of Ohio to facilitate the digitization and preservation of an entire collection of printed reports.
This compilation is the latest in the Treasurer’s Transparency Project, which was launched by Mandel in 2011. It builds on databases of state employee and teacher salaries, county investments, interactive state property maps and the first-of-its-kind OhioCheckbook.com that sets a new national transparency standard and gives Ohioans unprecedented access to details on how their money is being spent.
“Ohioans have a right to know how their money is spent,” said Treasurer Mandel. “I am proud to partner with the State Library of Ohio to preserve Ohio’s historical legacy while increasing transparency for Ohioans. Taxpayers can now see how their money is managed– dating back centuries – all in one archive, shining light on state government.”
“Partnering with Treasurer Mandel to add these important Annual Reports published by the Treasurer’s office is really an exciting opportunity to document the work of Ohio’s state government and make it easily accessible to researchers everywhere,” said State Librarian Beverly Cain. “Having documents that date to the 1800s provides an absolute treasure trove of historical information that until now, has not been widely available.”
