Statement on Patmos Library

Local voters in a politically conservative community called Jamestown Township rejected renewal Tuesday of a millage that would support the Patmos Library. Unfortunatley, 84 percent of the library’s $245,000 budget comes from property taxes collected through that millage. That means that this vote guts the library’s operating budget in 2023. Without a millage, the library is likely to run out of money sometime late next year, said Larry Walton, library board president.

Sign the petition against book banning!

Then help us reach more people like you by clicking to share it on Facebook and Twitter!

One resident posted a large, homemade sign that said, “50 percent increase to GROOM our kids? Vote NO on Library!”

Salem Sousley, who identifies as nonbinary and lives close by, said when they see the sign “it turns my stomach.”

Amanda Ensing, one of the organizers of the Jamestown Conservatives group, emerged from the library on election day wearing an “I voted” sticker. “They are trying to groom our children to believe that it’s OK to have these sinful desires,” Ensing said of library officials. “It’s not a political issue, it’s a Biblical issue.” -read more here

One citizen has put together this GoFundMe page

Make a donation to help the library recover some costs and stay open longer.

However, at EveryLibrary, we would like to see Americans free to choose the books that they feel are the right books for their families. That means increasing choice, not decreasing it. That's why we've prepared this statement on the defunding of the Patmos Library.

Statement on Patmos Library

We see the closing of the library in Patmos, MI. as a local tragedy with national implications. The vote no smear campaign has achieved its goals: to stoke fear in the community and demonize our fellow citizens who have the right to exist and be heard. Freedom only exists when individuals can make their own choices, free from government obstruction and overreach. Removing books, denying access to libraries, and creating a campaign of resentment towards our fellow Americans removes choice. This isn’t just an attack on libraries. It is an attack on freedom and liberty. We don’t think book banners understand the Constitution, or respect the rights of individuals and families, the separation of church and state, and what it means to live in a civil society. The community needs to reflect on whether or not they want to live in a town run by censors who use the government as a vehicle to dictate their choices to the citizens. Those choosing to close libraries have never been on the right side of history. 

Your donations help us fight against book bans in the United States!

You can read more about our work in our Annual Report or visit our full website at EveryLibrary.org