Prop 81 Fails
June 7, 2006
Prop 81, the California library bond measure up for a vote in yesterday’s election, failed with a yes vote of only 46.9%. Bad news for many libraries here in this beautiful state with many not-so-beautiful libraries. Much library construction has been put off for 30+ years due to a lack of funds. Libraries in this state, as in many others, are crumbling–and will now continue to crumble.
June 8th, 2006 at 8:28 am
When folks all over the country are deciding not to support their libraries I start to wonder why ALA is so consumed with trying to convince more people to become librarians.
June 8th, 2006 at 4:20 pm
A Gilroy Dispatch said about Prop 81, and perhaps this had something to do with why it was voted down:
Every member of the editorial board is a writer, a reader and a lover of libraries. Nevertheless, by a narrow margin, the editorial board opposes Proposition 81, the California Reading and Literacy Improvement and Library Construction Bond Act of 2006.
….
Speaking of local control … even after six years, it still rankles that our librarians refused and continue to refuse to adopt a policy prohibiting access to pornography by minors on library Internet terminals. When every day new incidents reveal the ease with which sexual predators solicit children online, any claims that the library is a safe place for kids ring hollow. The values espoused by the American Library Association are so divorced from the values of our community that we would seriously consider withdrawing from the Joint Powers Authority and going back to the days of a city library under local control, rather than giving one thin dime to an institution controlled by an organization that believes in “all materials for all patrons regardless of age.”
For those reasons, we urge a no vote on Proposition 81.
“Vote No on Prop. 81,” Editorial, Gilroy Dispatch, 19 May 2006.
More at SafeLibraries.org.
June 9th, 2006 at 8:30 am
That is certainly one take on it, though not one I agree with.
I think 81 was voted down because people are sick of bonds funding critical services, like education, libraries, fire, and police services. The government should re-prioritize where its existing funds are going and direct them towards the services the population wants and needs–libraries with free unfiltered internet acces included.