EveryLibrary
P.O. Box 406
Riverside, IL 60546
September 9, 2026
Dear Reader,
I have been running EveryLibrary since 2012, and I cannot remember a time when my phone rang as much as it has these past three months. More libraries and local groups have reached out to us for help than at any time in our history.
I want to tell you about three of those calls, because together they are the reason I am writing to you today.
One call came from our old friends in St. Clairsville, OH, where the library is on the ballot in November to renew its basic operating levy funding. We helped the Vote Yes committee pass their first levy in 2017 and then extend it in 2021. Our ongoing promise to St. Clairsville is to be their strategic partner and an early funder of their get-out-the-vote campaign. Because EveryLibrary is a 501c4 political action committee, we bundle up donations and help library campaigns get moving fast. St. Clairsville is one of 24 library ballot measures this year, and I am looking ahead to 2027 for more.
Another call came from our colleagues in Arkansas, where the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a lower court ruling that enjoined a law allowing the criminal prosecution of librarians. We campaigned hard against Public Act 372 back in 2023, and were glad when it was brought into court then. Now, we are facing a situation where we have to help prepare librarians against the threat of criminalization and prosecution. I had thought the work would be less intensive next year, but we have to be ready to fight back.
The third call came when a version of the federal book ban bill, H.R. 7661, was introduced in the Senate. The House bill, H.R. 7661, would withhold federal funding from schools unless the school libraries remove certain books that the administration does not like. We have already seen how the administration has censored school library books at Department of Defense K-12 schools around the world. Seeing a Senate version introduced was chilling. So far, we have helped almost 50,000 Americans take action against the bills through dedicated paid advertising and social media outreach. It won’t be less expensive to do that over the next few months.
I want to be clear about why those calls come to us. EveryLibrary is not a charity or membership association, and that structure was built on purpose. We don’t just track problems, we engage in the fight alongside local legitimate stakeholders. We are built to work within the political processes of talking to voters, fighting over budgets, and making laws. We never charge the local library or statewide stakeholders for our service and support, which is exactly why it has to be paid for here, in this envelope today.
You have helped us do this work before. Your past donations have helped us support dozens of local ballot committees run real campaigns. Together, we have helped a quarter of a million Americans tell Congress to keep federal library funding in place and have activated new people every day to sign the petition opposing the federal book-ban bills. I would like to continue to show up the same way again this fall, and in 2027 at state legislatures and a new Congress.
Thank you for putting your trust in us. I would like to ask you to renew or expand your donation today. Can you donate today? It could not come at a better time. EveryLibrary has always been a lean organization because we are focused on outcomes for our partners, not our own agenda. Donations to EveryLibrary do not sit in a bank. Please use the enclosed card, or give today at www.everylibrary.org/now.
Thank you,
John Chrastka
Executive Director, EveryLibrary
P.S. The calls did not stop while I was writing this letter. A small library in Pennsylvania emailed to say they have a referendum to increase the library’s millage on the ballot on November 3rd. “We are hoping to get assistance understanding what we can do and how we can encourage our people to support and vote Yes on this referendum,” they said.
I know we can help them, and I am proud of that. And with your gift, we will be ready for anyone who asks. Please give today at www.everylibrary.org/now