Vote @ your library

Contact: Megan McFarlane


Campaign Coordinator


(312) 280-2148


mmcfarlane@ala.org

News


For Immediate Release


November 4, 2008

Libraries promote election programming

(Chicago)- It is Election Day and libraries want to help you gather the information you need to make your decision.

Throughout the election process libraries have been hosting activities and events to register voters and to educate them on the important issue in this election. Here are some examples:

Under the “What’s happening @ your library” section, the Baltimore County Public Library’s Towson branch in Towson, Md., announced that the library will host Election 2008: Returns After Dark tonight, from 8 p.m. to midnight. Library users are encouraged to visit the library to watch and discuss election returns and projections, with commentary provided by Dr. Matthew Crenson, a political analyst and political science professor at John Hopkins University in Baltimore. During the 2008 election process, the library held a series of election based programs titled Your Vote, Your Future. Issues discussed included form immigration, healthcare, the economy and terrorism, and hosted speakers from Towson University, the Center for Immigration Studies and John Hopkins.

In October, The Skokie Public Library in Skokie, Ill. hosted Election Information @ your library, a series of two programs to promote informed voting decisions. The 2008 Election in Context featured a lecture and discussion on the 2008 presidential election by Dr. Daniel Galvin, an assistant professor of political science at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. The second program in the series featured training on how to navigate the Web for the most useful and accurate resources.

The University Libraries of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis pulled together to support Register to vote @ your library, a voter registration drive. Voter registration forms were made available at the circulation desks of each of the university libraries’ 14 branches, and registration information was available on the libraries’ Web site in English, Hmong, Russian, Somali, Spanish and Vietnamese. Information on candidates’ positions, election news, and selected information sources from the libraries’ collections were made available at:
http://www.lib.umn.edu/vote. The libraries also involved the students in the College of Design by having posters created urging people to vote, and were displayed in the libraries (http://wilson.lib.umn.edu/reference/politics/posters.html).

The Campaign for America's Libraries is ALA's public awareness campaign about the role of today's libraries and librarians. Since its launch in 2001, the @ your library brand and Campaign materials have been used nationwide - and around the world - by thousands of libraries of all types.