2013 Annual Report

EveryLibrary is pleased to present our 2013 Annual Report (pdf) to our donors and supporters in advance of our next Board of Directors meeting on Sunday, January 26th 2014 in Philadelphia.

2013 was our inaugural year as the first national political action committee for libraries.  In that year, over 350 individual, corporate, and union donors provided financial support for EveryLibrary to work on seven library campaigns, support campaign planning with six other communities, speak at numerous in-person and online events about campaign-style library advocacy, and secure over $15 million in basic funding through tax support for libraries.  Our donors and supporters have helped quickly identify EveryLibrary as a new and important addition to the library advocacy ecosystem.  We are honored by a trust in our work that is not only expressed in donations but in the volunteer time, “signal boosts”, and the thoughtful engagement of so many people.

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As Executive Director, I am proud to report that for each dollar spent in support of library campaigns we have helped secure $1,450 in tax funding at the ballot box.  I am honored to have met people like Pat Partovi, the then-director of the Spokane Public Library, which was our first campaign.  She took a risk by inviting this new advocacy organization into their success securing $1.6 million in a special library levy.   The opportunity to work with their local ballot committee and have a win in our first public foray set the tone for our entire year.  All our other campaigns stand on the shoulders of Spokane’s success.   I want to thank Nicole Stroud, our first public donor. When news broke that morning in September 2012 about our funding-launch, she had the accidental honor of being the first one to say yes to our idea with financial support.  With her donation, and the hundreds of others who have made a pledge to build voter support for libraries, we have been effective on Election Days.

I am proud of the work we have done on all our campaigns – win or lose.  We want to help the communities in Shorewood-Troy, IL. and Corning, NY. run their measures again when the time is right.  We’re engaged in Cornelius, OR. to put a new strategy in the field for their $2.6 million bond.  From the $6.2 million we helped Santa Clara County, CA. secure to the $1.6 million in Spokane to the $250,000 we helped win for Ronan, MT., every dollar counts for collections, staffing, hours, and programs.  And this year, even when we came in late to a campaign we came in hard in support the library’s funding.  Our rapid-response social media campaigns in support of a threatened $7 million levy with the Save Miami-Dade County Library and against the campaign to defund half of a $2 million levy in Lafourche, LA.  were effective because of our donors’s financial support.

As we prepare for dozens of campaigns across the country in 2014, we will train staff and volunteers in the library on effective and engaged Information-Only techniques.  We are already out in the field providing campaign training, technical assistance, and direct funding to local citizen-lead ballot committees.  Our speaking schedule is rather full, but each point of engagement advances a new perspective in library advocacy. All throughout this year, we’ll need your financial support, your networks and connections, and your engagement with our goal of speaking directly to voters about libraries and librarians.  Thank you in advance.  We look forward to your feedback on the report.