Join New Campaign to Pressure Supervisors to Restore Library Hours PLEASE SIGN PETITION

[Peacetown Jonathan]

Since the summer of 2011, hundreds of thousands of Sonoma County residents have been deprived of the use of our local libraries on Mondays and evenings, due to an ill-advised 25% cutback in hours countywide. Libraries feel over-crowded during the reduced hours they are open. The number of children participating in library programs has fallen by more than 12,000 a year.

Seniors, children, parents, and the needy are the hardest hit by this failure of government, for the first known time in our local library system’s 109-year history, to adequately fund this vital public resource. Yet the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors has refused to take responsibility for addressing this budgetary shortfall, and has no plan to restore library hours for the coming fiscal year.

We, the people, can change that, if we spread the word and let our elected representatives know that keeping libraries open is a top priority for us.

I just launched a new website at www.RestoreLibraryHours.org for a month long grassroots campaign (a volunteer project by Progressive Source Communications). Our objective is to build public awareness, and public pressure, on Sonoma County Supervisors to add $1.3 million to the budget during its annual deliberations in mid-June, and restore library hours across the county’s libraries starting July 1. Please join us in signing our petition by clicking here, and sharing this website with your friends and relatives.

If you prefer telephoning your County Supervisor directly to discuss funding to restore library hours this year, call 707-565-2241, and ask to speak to Susan Gorin (1^st District), David Rabbitt (2^nd District), Shirleee Zane (3^rd), Mike McGuire (4^th) or Efren Carrillo (5^th). They can also be emailed individually from the Supervisors web page here.
Please report back to this email string here on Wacco any response the supervisors give about whether or not they intend to vote to restore library hours this year.

The library system's $1.3 million shortfall represents just one-tenth of one percent of our County’s $1.3 billion budget. During this library funding "crisis" period, the Board of Supervisors has approved numerous expenditures that serve fewer citizens, are less popular, and less urgent.

For example, during last June’s budget deliberations, our Supervisors voted to add $8 million to the County's $80 million road maintenance budget. And since 2006, it has also added millions more per year to fund an unpopular 250% increase in County marijuana busts, prosecutions, and incarcerations.

If citizens were to vote on whether our tax dollars should go to re-opening our closed libraries or more pot busts, a wide majority of us would vote for libraries. Responsive Government means that we need our Supervisors to represent tax-payers in how our tax dollars are spent. We need an accountability moment during June's budget deliberations, and to remind them that refusing to vote to fund the re-opening of libraries is a vote against libraries, and the many thousands of citizens who use them.

Sonoma County is relatively wealthy, and our government has sufficient taxpayer resources to fund the restoration of library hours for the coming year—provided that our Board of Supervisors responds to this urgent public need.

If you would like to volunteer to assist with marketing this Campaign, or donate to its small advertising budget, please email info at ProgressiveSource dot com.

[patnicholson]

The library should be open to a new way of doing business since the old way doesn't work anymore

Since the summer of 2011, hundreds of thousands of Sonoma County residents have been deprived of the use of our local libraries on Mondays and evenings, due to an ill-advised 25% cutback in hours countywide. Libraries feel over-crowded during the reduced hours they are open. The number of children participating in library programs has fallen by more than 12,000 a year.

Seniors, children, parents, and the needy are the hardest hit by this failure of government, for the first known time in our local library system’s 109-year history, to adequately fund this vital public resource. Yet the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors has refused to take responsibility for addressing this budgetary shortfall, and has no plan to restore library hours for the coming fiscal year.

We, the people, can change that, if we spread the word and let our elected representatives know that keeping libraries open is a top priority for us.

I just launched a new website at www.RestoreLibraryHours.org for a month long grassroots campaign (a volunteer project by Progressive Source Communications). Our objective is to build public awareness, and public pressure, on Sonoma County Supervisors to add $1.3 million to the budget during its annual deliberations in mid-June, and restore library hours across the county’s libraries starting July 1. Please join us in signing our petition by clicking here, and sharing this website with your friends and relatives.

If you prefer telephoning your County Supervisor directly to discuss funding to restore library hours this year, call 707-565-2241, and ask to speak to Susan Gorin (1^st District), David Rabbitt (2^nd District), Shirleee Zane (3^rd), Mike McGuire (4^th) or Efren Carrillo (5^th). They can also be emailed individually from the Supervisors web page here.
Please report back to this email string here on Wacco any response the supervisors give about whether or not they intend to vote to restore library hours this year.

The library system's $1.3 million shortfall represents just one-tenth of one percent of our County’s $1.3 billion budget. During this library funding "crisis" period, the Board of Supervisors has approved numerous expenditures that serve fewer citizens, are less popular, and less urgent.

For example, during last June’s budget deliberations, our Supervisors voted to add $8 million to the County's $80 million road maintenance budget. And since 2006, it has also added millions more per year to fund an unpopular 250% increase in County marijuana busts, prosecutions, and incarcerations.

If citizens were to vote on whether our tax dollars should go to re-opening our closed libraries or more pot busts, a wide majority of us would vote for libraries. Responsive Government means that we need our Supervisors to represent tax-payers in how our tax dollars are spent. We need an accountability moment during June's budget deliberations, and to remind them that refusing to vote to fund the re-opening of libraries is a vote against libraries, and the many thousands of citizens who use them.

Sonoma County is relatively wealthy, and our government has sufficient taxpayer resources to fund the restoration of library hours for the coming year—provided that our Board of Supervisors responds to this urgent public need.

If you would like to volunteer to assist with marketing this Campaign, or donate to its small advertising budget, please email info at ProgressiveSource dot com.

[Barry]

The library should be open to a new way of doing business since the old way doesn't work anymore

What do you suggest?

[gypsey]

Hello,
I am a frequent user of the library in Sebastopol and am forever grateful that we have such a wonderful resource with computers, reference library, hundreds of DVDs and thousands of books---all FREE to borrow. The meeting space and wonderful events including concerts, children's story time and classes for babies and parents are just a few of the resources our library provides.

I too was disappointed when Sonoma County had to cut their library hours, but I understood why. These are challenging times and our county needs are great. I don't believe signing a petition will balance the books. It might force our library hours to be increased, but at what cost to other services?

Meanwhile, how many of you know that the reason we have a remodeled Sebastopol library and improved facilities is because of volunteers and volunteer donations? Yes, Friends of the Library!

All of us can be our library's friend, whether through book donations, cash donations, or volunteer hours. It won't restore our lost library hours---improving our county's economy and financial balance sheet is required for that--but we can ensure that our library continues to provide excellent service for one and for all.

What do you suggest?

[Peacetown Jonathan]

In response to the post above and the earlier post suggesting we need a "new way," I do not believe in the austerity myth, or the popular practice led by billionaires like NY Mayor Bloomberg to insist that our public parks and libraries "need" back door privatization to survive, through ads, "partnerships," cutbacks, concessions, etc. Our Great Society is built around the notion of a government that helps provide servcies for the pubic benefit. Our library is one such service. For a century it was open Mondays.

The only thing that has changed is how little we, as citizens, expect from those we elect, and pay good salaries, to oversee our $1.3 billion County budget of taxpayer money.

I expect them to restore library hours this year, so that come July, our libraries will again serve tens of thousnads of us on Mondays and evenings. If you agree, please let yuour friends and neighbors know, and curculate and post our MoveOn Petition at https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/re...l&r_by=7904089.

Our District 5 Supervisor, Efren Carrillo can be reached at 565-2241.

If restoring our library hours is a concern for you, please let him know--and consider posting here, in this public forum, any response you get.

Hello,
I am a frequent user of the library in Sebastopol and am forever grateful that we have such a wonderful resource with computers, reference library, hundreds of DVDs and thousands of books---all FREE to borrow. The meeting space and wonderful events including concerts, children's story time and classes for babies and parents are just a few of the resources our library provides.

I too was disappointed when Sonoma County had to cut their library hours, but I understood why. These are challenging times and our county needs are great. I don't believe signing a petition will balance the books. It might force our library hours to be increased, but at what cost to other services?

Meanwhile, how many of you know that the reason we have a remodeled Sebastopol library and improved facilities is because of volunteers and volunteer donations? Yes, Friends of the Library!

All of us can be our library's friend, whether through book donations, cash donations, or volunteer hours. It won't restore our lost library hours---improving our county's economy and financial balance sheet is required for that--but we can ensure that our library continues to provide excellent service for one and for all.

[poetrytalks]

Hi,
are you aware of Goodsearch, a search engine that donates 1 cent to a selected charity each time one searches? I search for the Sonoma Co. library. If a lot of people use it, it adds up. If a thousand people do 100 searches a week, that's a thousand dollars a week for the library. One way to help. Maybe the library could make it more well known. https://www.goodsearch.com/

Thank you for your efforts!
Sher

[Peacetown Jonathan]

MoveOn petititons listed the Restore LIbrary Hours initiative on its landing page today; more than 1,300 people have signed it from all around the County. Our County Supervisors, who are well paid to manage our tax dollars, need to hear that restoring Mondays starting THIS SUMMER, restoring the level of service our community had enjoyed for a century, is a priority voters in Sonoma County. Please sign the petition andf share
https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/re...ource=homepage