Lib Politics Rodeo November 1st, 2013

Welcome to the Lib Politics Rodeo.

Every time someone votes no for libraries...a kitten falls off his horse.

Every Friday we will round up the week’s news on library politics and highlight some of the things that we are following or reading. Here’s what we have in our lassos this week.

November 5th is this Tuesday and that is a voting day for many of you. If you live in or around areas with library measures on the ballot it's time to hit the social media/streets/friend's places/neighborhood meetups/water cooler/salon with some VOTE YES messages. Don't let your libraries down this Tuesday!

In the news:

This Tuesday the Cornelius Public Library (OR) has a 2.4 million dollar bond on the ballot for a new library. They will be partnering with Bienestar (a land developer) to add senior housing above the new library and a wellness center. This week the ballot measure was endorsed by a local newspaper. EveryLibrary supported Yes for Cornelius Library with some initial funding and campaign consulting. We hope they win at the ballot box this Tuesday.

The public library in Maywood (IL) closed this week due to lack of funding. “For us to lose this it’s like losing the heart of the community. It just doesn't make a lot of sense,” [resident] Dawkins said. This closing is rather abrupt and has left everyone with a lot of questions. More background on what led up to this unfortunate event.

Here's a few more libraries with funding measures on the ballot this Tuesday. Round Rock Library (TX) has a $23.2 million bond on the ballot for new main and branch libraries. Circulation has gone up 10% annually in recent years and that's a good problem to have, but they need more funding to keep pace with it. The Hiawatha Library (IA) has a levy on the ballot that will bring in an extra $80,000 annually for the library. A Carnegie Library in Homestead (PA) has a ballot measure that would ask each municipality for .33 mils of taxes to be set aside for the library. This is not a tax increase, but will get some additional library funding.

On our desks:

The BISCQuick Annual Pre-Election Report for 2013. Check out how many other things besides libraries are going to be on ballots across the country in 2014. You know some of that other important stuff like the fire department, police, etc. Things that rightfully get a lot of attention around election time. We need to get very good very quickly with messaging in a noisy space.

EveryLibrary can help with that by providing local ballot committees with Get Out The Vote training and consultation on running successful campaigns to break through the clutter and encourage people to go to the bottom of the ballot where the library issue usually is. However, we cannot do that without your support. Help us raise $5,000 by the American Library Association Midwinter Conference so we can continue to help libraries secure funding.

That’s all for today. Join us next week for another round up. Happy trails!