Campaign Updates

We have helped three libraries win at the ballot box since our last newsletter. Check out their stories below!

A Win For Twin Lakes Libraries!

“The Friends of the Mary Vinson Memorial Library are very grateful for all of the help we received from EveryLibrary in our efforts to save the Twin Lakes Library System in Milledgeville, Georgia. With the help of EveryLibrary, we were able to launch a petition that, with each signature, contacted each of our city and county elected officials to urge them to work together to ensure the funding for our library system be secured despite an ongoing service delivery strategy dispute between the two governments”

– The Friends of the Mary Vinson Memorial Library

Wins for Libraries in Spokane County and Pend Oreille County

The team in Spokane County, WA. passed Proposition 1, a new operating levy to expand services and stabilize the library’s future with a 53% Yes vote. About 93% of the library’s budget is funded by property taxes. Without this increase in funding from the levy, the Spokane County Library District would have cut services and staff and, in the next few years, some library branches could close. 

We’re also thrilled for the Pend Oreille (WA) County Library District’s 63% Yes vote to restore a property tax levy for operations. Without that funding, two branch libraries in their very rural county would have closed. Congratulations to Patrick Rowe and his wonderful staff in Spokane County and to Mandy Walters and her amazing crew in Pend Oreille.

FundLibraries Campaign of the Week

Spotlight (Take action on these Campaigns)

Send a Message to Des Moines to Support Libraries!

The Iowa Library Association is asking Des Moines for full funding for the State Library of Iowa and increased funding for the Enrich Iowa program. There are three key points that your state legislators need to hear:

• Fully fund the State Library. This will allow the State Library to partner with public libraries to expand services for Iowans. 
• Strengthen Enrich Iowa. This will let libraries use new funds to modernize infrastructure, update technology, provide innovative services, and strengthen local library service across the state.
• Support Teacher Librarians. School librarians across the state need to be recognized as instructional staff, since they both teach and enhance student learning in school libraries, classrooms, learning commons, makerspaces, labs, and virtual learning spaces.

Libraries OptOut of LinkedIn

Libraries are one of the most trusted institutions in our country. It is this deep-seated trust that enables us to serve our communities. Our commitment to privacy is why all library users, including our undocumented, unhoused, and marginalized users, continue to feel safe within our walls or when accessing library resources online. The ability to access information without being tracked or monitored or required to publicly expose personally identifiable information (PII) makes libraries a safe haven in an era of pervasive surveillance. Libraries must continue to ensure our users have unmonitored access to information through the services we provide in the library and online.

Get 'America Needs Librarians' Swag Here!

News and Trends

Check out our game of Connect Four with Checkers & Rally's!

Trainings and Talks

Reaching Across the Aisle for Library Funding and Other Initiatives

Recent political campaigns and philosophical confrontations online and in the press have destroyed lasting friendships, frayed family ties, and alienated neighbors and co-workers. Social media has devolved into a battleground of nasty diatribes and personal slurs. How can we advocate for libraries in this environment?

The Discovery Model is about first listening to the other person’s point of view and being able to understand their values and the world they live in. The point? It’s about strengthening and sustaining workplace, personal, and online relationships, not trying to win the argument du jour. And learning to live in peace on the same planet with people you disagree with.

Neat Stuff Libraries and Librarians do

Library program aims to stimulate community connections

Former First Lady Laura Bush has a little something to do with a new community program underway at The Westerly Library and Wilcox Park.

The program, said William Lancellotta, the library's assistant director, is called Community Spotlight, and was created thanks to a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, in the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program's "EXCITE Transformation for Libraries" project.

Libraries Act as Cooling Centers in Heatwaves

Ana Raquel Nunes, a public health researcher at the University of Warwick in the UK, recently referred to visits to libraries and community centers as a wider support action during heatwaves. This is especially useful for people who are both particularly vulnerable to heat and less likely to have many resources to beat the heat. These include children, the elderly, people with chronic illnesses, and rough sleepers.

Write Now: Library Is An Essential Tool In Writer’s Kit

It has been trendy for some time to carry one’s laptop computer to a library and use its wifi. One can stay on top of all the latest news. But even before the dawn of the Internet, one could always stay on top of all the latest news at the library. It stored all the information.

Here’s another cool fact about the Library: it also has newspapers, magazines, CDs, DVDs, computers, and even, maybe a typewriter for someone who may not have access to a computer.