The relative handful of library referenda placed before voters in the November 2 off-year election met with mixed results. The two largest measures reported to American Libraries both passed: a $35-million bond proposal to build a new main library and refurbish two branches in San Mateo, California; and a $34-million bond proposal in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, that will pay for a $27-million children’s learning center and three new branches.
In addition, county voters approved a 1% sales tax to build a new 100,000-square-foot main library in Columbus, Georgia, expected to cost as much as $50.4 million. Other communities passing library-funding measures included Summit County, Ohio; Loudoun County, Virginia; and Amarillo, Texas.
However, the Corning (N.Y.) Area Public Library shut down after 102 years of continuous service after two small municipalities rejected for a second time a proposal to create a special tax district to fund the financially strapped facility. The library is expected to remain closed for at least several months. Library-funding measures also failed in Howard County, Missouri, and in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
A state-by-state roundup of library referenda and other local ballot measures will appear in the December American Libraries.
Posted November 8, 1999.