Wins for Libraries in Spokane County and Pend Oreille County

Being active nationally and engaged locally for libraries is the core of our work.  If you believe like we do that any library ballot measure anywhere matters, please take the next step and donate to support our work today. Spokane County and Pend Oreille County are our 103rd and 104th campaigns. Since 2012 we have helped libraries secure over $1.8 billion in stable tax funding for their operations, collections, programs, services, and buildings.  Can you help us help the next few libraries on the ballot by donating today

We are thrilled to report two Election Day wins for libraries yesterday. 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.

EveryLibrary worked with both library leadership teams in the lead-up to Election Day to help plan out their Informational Communications Campaigns. This included direct support for their community surveys and planning process, their approach to sharing about their plans with other local organizations, agencies and stakeholder groups, as well as developing community-wide engagement for in-person events, online, and social media. Our donors enable us to provide this kind of library-by-library campaign supports pro-bono and for free. And it matters on Election Day. We were even able to visit both libraries in-person to meet with the staff and boards, to provide training, and to really get to know their places.

We are especially thankful to the amazing local volunteers who came together to run smart Vote Yes campaigns across both counties. The team with Vote Yes for Spokane County Libraries did a great job with voter engagement and social media. The Pend Oreille library has a wonderfully engaged group of supporters who carried the message across the county. Because we are a political action committee for libraries we can work with both the staff as well as the local campaigners. It’s all done for free and pro-bono, too, because we want to see their limited resources go to the local campaign.