or, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Fear and Loathing at a Public Library Reference Desk



Vote Library!

   October 30th, 2012

I'm in Ohio this week* visiting family, and couldn't help but notice all the bright pink VOTE LIBRARY signs dotting the lawns in Huron, Ohio:

Vote Library lawn sign

It got me curious, so I looked into what the library was asking for. Funding increases are certainly nothing new to the library world, but I thought the Huron Library has put together a good levy campaign. They've got info on their website as well as a dedicated website for the issue. Both have a nice embedded video explaining how the library will use the money to benefit the community - and my favorite part is that they break it down to the personal level:

The owner of a home with a market value of $100,000 currently pays $25 per year for library services. The 1.25 mills will cost that same homeowner approximately $39 per year - a total increase of $14 per year. For less than the cost of two hardcover books, or two DVDs, per year, quality library service to the community can be preserved. [emphasis added]

Because there are so many people right now who are against any tax increases at all ever no matter what ever ever, it's important to focus on the value of tax money - and do it in easily digestible language. For people in a community with a strong library, $14 is not much of an increase - and it's certainly easier to understand on a personal level than an increase of .45 mill.

Judging from the number of signs I saw around town, the Huron Library has a lot of community support for this levy - good luck, HPL!

 


*I had planned to just stay for an extended weekend, but Hurricane Sandy conveniently cut off any return route from Ohio to Massachusetts, so my five day stay became eight days of playing with nieces and nephews and helping my parents (besides, my library was without power for a couple days so they never missed me anyway). I hope everyone else affected by the storm fared well.




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3 Responses to “Vote Library!”

  1. Stephanie Brown Says:

    can you VOTE in OH while you’re there?! 😉

  2. Brian Herzog Says:

    @Stephanie: ha, unfortunately, no. Although I did get accosted in a grocery store on Wednesday (in Elyria) by some guy who was running for President and wanted to know if I had voted yet. He gave my brother Mike his card, and then when he asked if Mike would consider voting for him and Mike said no, the guy took his card back. Democracy!

  3. Brian Herzog Says:

    @Stephanie: I like the Wordle you created – interesting to see “chat” so prominent. How do you like desktracker? We don’t use anything right now, but I’ve been thinking about using software like that.