Arkansas Librarians Fight
Proposed Property Tax Repeal
Librarians in Arkansas have organized to fight a November 3 ballot proposal that would amend the state constitution to abolish the property tax. Called APPLES (Arkansans to Protect Police Libraries and Education Services), the group maintains that if the proposal is passed, Arkansas's public libraries would all be forced to close.
Central Arkansas Library System Director Bobby Roberts, who heads the coalition, has pledged that librarians there will raise $50,000 of a projected $100,000 that is needed to fight the measure. He has asked librarians across the state to raise the rest.
Carolyn Ashcraft, coordinator of extension services at the Arkansas State Library, told American Libraries that a suit challenging the amendment is expected to go before the state Supreme Court in early October. Opponents are hoping the court will "knock it off the ballot." Both gubernatorial candidates have voiced opposition to the amendment, Ashcraft said.
Posted September 21, 1998.
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