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"A Michigan library lost an electoral bid to restore its funding -- revoked after librarians ..."
Popehat RetweetedA Michigan library lost an electoral bid to restore its funding -- revoked after librarians refused to remove "Gender Queer" entirely -- and will close. https://freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/11/09/patmos-library-millage-fails-lgbtq-books/69634103007 . (For background: https://washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/08/24/michigan-library-defunded-gender-queer/)
washingtonpost.com
A Mich. library refused to remove an LGBTQ book. The town defunded it.
A fight over "Gender Queer" spiraled into a battle that jeopardized Jamestown’s only public library, as neighbors clashed over who gets to
A Mich. library refused to remove an LGBTQ book. The town defunded it.
A fight over "Gender Queer" spiraled into a battle that jeopardized Jamestown’s only public library, as neighbors clashed over who gets to
Link to tweet
I edited the address of the article in the Detroit Free Press to make it work.
Millage fails for Michigan library defunded over LGBTQ books
Emma Stein
Detroit Free Press
Published 6:50 p.m. ET Nov. 9, 2022 | Updated 8:27 p.m. ET Nov. 9, 2022
The Patmos Library millage failed in the August primary, meaning it lost 84% of its operating budget because its staff refused to remove its LGBTQ books. The board put it on the ballot again on Tuesday's midterms, hoping that with more residents aware of the measure, it would pass. ... It failed, again. ... Without taxpayer funds, the library will close. Exactly when that will happen is not yet known.
A GoFundMe for the library raised about $265,000, with the help of author Nora Roberts, but it won't be enough to sustain it long-term, the Patmos Library Board said in a plea to voters released just before the election.
"It means a lot that people are standing with this library and our community," the statement reads. "The financial support for the library is incredible and will help us weather the immediate crisis. However, we know very clearly that what this library needs to remain open over the long term is to pass the 10-year levy renewal in November. We cannot run the Patmos Public Library for the next decade without stable taxpayer support. ... If the levy fails, we will put these donations to work in the best way we can for as long as we can."
Just 5,500 residents out of around 10,000 in the township voted on the millage, and 55.8% voted "no." ... Connor Cook, a 26-year-old gay man who grew up in Jamestown and now attends medical school at Wayne State University, said he was shocked when he found out it failed. Losing access to the township's only library will have a significant impact on the community, he said, especially because many families homeschool their children and many of them learn how to read at libraries.
{snip}
Contact Emma Stein: estein@freepress.com and follow her on Twitter @_emmastein.
Emma Stein
Detroit Free Press
Published 6:50 p.m. ET Nov. 9, 2022 | Updated 8:27 p.m. ET Nov. 9, 2022
The Patmos Library millage failed in the August primary, meaning it lost 84% of its operating budget because its staff refused to remove its LGBTQ books. The board put it on the ballot again on Tuesday's midterms, hoping that with more residents aware of the measure, it would pass. ... It failed, again. ... Without taxpayer funds, the library will close. Exactly when that will happen is not yet known.
A GoFundMe for the library raised about $265,000, with the help of author Nora Roberts, but it won't be enough to sustain it long-term, the Patmos Library Board said in a plea to voters released just before the election.
"It means a lot that people are standing with this library and our community," the statement reads. "The financial support for the library is incredible and will help us weather the immediate crisis. However, we know very clearly that what this library needs to remain open over the long term is to pass the 10-year levy renewal in November. We cannot run the Patmos Public Library for the next decade without stable taxpayer support. ... If the levy fails, we will put these donations to work in the best way we can for as long as we can."
Just 5,500 residents out of around 10,000 in the township voted on the millage, and 55.8% voted "no." ... Connor Cook, a 26-year-old gay man who grew up in Jamestown and now attends medical school at Wayne State University, said he was shocked when he found out it failed. Losing access to the township's only library will have a significant impact on the community, he said, especially because many families homeschool their children and many of them learn how to read at libraries.
{snip}
Contact Emma Stein: estein@freepress.com and follow her on Twitter @_emmastein.
13 replies
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