In what seems like a surreal event the entire library system of Jackson County, Oregon is on the brink of closure. Their funding runs out April 7th and if nothing is done between now and then it will be the largest library closure in U.S. history.
“I wish we could call FEMA; this feels like a natural disaster to me” says the county’s interim library director Ted Stark.
The 15 libraries that serve this rural community have lost $7 million in federal funding this year or nearly 80 percent of the system’s budget and the Jackson County residents voted down a property tax levy that would have generated $9 million a year to keep the libraries open.
In a region hit hard by the disappearing timber industry it is no surprise they voted the levy down. In a complex chain of events, that goes from Teddy Roosevelt to the spotted owl, the county (as well as the whole state of Oregon) has lost half of its property tax base in the last 100 years. There is another levy on an upcoming May ballot that needs 50% turnout and then a majority vote.
Some Jackson County library facts from 2006:
100,000 Library cardholders, 40,000 of which use the libraries
Average 3,000 visitors per day
1,472,000 Items checked out
260,000 Computer sessions booked
517,300 Questions answered by reference librarians
13,000 Preschoolers attending story times
5,500 Youths in summer reading programs
31,000 Books delivered to homebound residents
“There’s something magical about the public library — those moments when you help a kid find a book on wolves, or someone comes in with a family member whose just been diagnosed with something and they need help finding information,” “I can’t imagine what it would be like if that were gone.” says Luke Kralik, who just earned his master’s degree in library science so he could work in the new Medford Central Library.
Meredith May at the San Francisco Chronicle has an excellent article on the issue that includes 2 podcasts.
Jackson County Library website
Jackson County Library Blog