Election season normally focuses on the top of the ticket and national offices, but one of the highlights of Arkansas politics is the ability of citizens to propose their own laws at both the state and county levels. This is a two-edged sword, and unfortunately, libraries have been some of the casualties of the last few years.
There are a number of library fights happening this election season, so we thought we’d take a look at them: who’s arguing for what, what happens when a library loses funding, and why it matters.
Craighead County
Two years ago, Craighead County voted to cut its library funding in half. The library’s wise stewardship meant that voters didn’t see those cuts for about a year, but now they’re in effect. Voters approved the county-wide cuts by a fairly substantial margin, but the vote to defund Jonesboro’s library succeeded by just forty-eight votes.
Residents have placed a petition to refund Jonesboro’s library on the ballot for this fall.
We’ve certainly made no secret of our general support for libraries, but we wanted to take a look at what’s going on in Jonesboro specifically.
The county library system lost about $2 million per year in funding. Thirteen folks lost their jobs. Hours were cut substantially: the library is no longer open on Sunday, only a half day on Saturday, and several hours less throughout the week. Summer literacy programs for kids now rely on Friends of the Library 501c3 funding; that funding will likely run out by next year.
Fewer items circulate because the materials budget was slashed, so patrons now have to wait much longer for books, ebooks, digital media, and tools.
According to the library supporters that are attempting to re-fund the Jonesboro Library, the original petition was put forward at the last possible second using a misleading ballot title; a vote “For” the petition was actually voting against the library, and there were multiple reports of folks regretting their vote or misunderstanding just what it was they were voting for. Incidentally, had the Garland County petition made it onto the ballot, this would have been their strategy, too.
None of these folks are honest about their true goals.
Jonesboro’s 2024 Choice
This time around, the ballot petition is more straightforward: a vote “For” is indeed a vote to support re-funding the library. Supporters are also being honest that taxes will go up, but that’s just what living in a community is: we all pay a little to make sure services that are good for the community are well-funded, and there’s no price tag on strong communities.
On the other hand, opponents say that the money saved by cutting library funds will go toward infrastructure projects like road repair. This sounds nice in theory, especially when such projects are desperately needed.
But that’s not really how local taxes work; subtracting taxes from one bucket doesn’t automatically mean that the revenue gets added into another bucket. It just means the first bucket has less in it and everyone that uses the library loses.
Opponents also tried to argue that the cuts to hours and staff were voluntary, which is such a disingenuous statement it nearly has to make you laugh. Hours and staff got cut because the library had millions less to spend every year.
So, Jonesboro, your library’s fate is in your hands. Studies show again and again that when local libraries are strong, the communities they serve are strong. Choose wisely at the ballot box.
Lawrence County
In neighboring Lawrence County, there’s a similar county-wide effort to defund the local library, and supporters of the effort to defund use similarly misleading arguments about infrastructure spending and wise stewardship.
It’s valid to want to be sure your tax dollars are being spent wisely, but there’s no evidence Lawrence County Library has been anything but a good steward with citizens’ funds.
Again, taking money out of one bucket doesn’t mean the money gets put into the other bucket. Let’s say Lawrence County votes to defund the library, and folks’ taxes go down. Great for them! Except, in order to repair those darned roads, you have to raise other taxes. The same amount of money is now coming out of your pocket, and now you don’t have a library to boot.
Furthermore, if anyone’s driven through I-30 west of Little Rock in, say, the last half-decade, they’re more than aware of how slow and uncertain road construction and repair is. There are a lot of steps between cutting funding for the library and repairing roads, so the folks who are saying this are misrepresenting how county taxes work.
Red Herrings and Misinformation
So, Lawrence County, make no mistake: the rhetoric about road repair is a red herring. The real motivation is banning books in a roundabout fashion. Book bans have fared poorly in the courts, but this is another way to accomplish similar goals. If you truly want to vote to defund the library, that’s your right, but at least be honest about why you’re voting to do so.
Over four hundred kids used the library last summer to learn to read and stay cool in the sweltering heat. Seniors use the library to socialize, use the Internet, and stay engaged with the community. Free clinics that help with legal matters, taxes, continuing education, and more will likely be cut. The hours will almost certainly be cut drastically, and some of your neighbors will likely lose their jobs.
Meanwhile, unless taxes are raised elsewhere, your roads will still be in need of repair.
Libraries strengthen communities
We hope that Lawrence County residents will consider chatting with their Craighead neighbors to see the damage to communities caused by defunded libraries before they cast their ballots next month, and we hope Jonesboro residents who were conned into defunding their library two years ago know the truth now.
It can’t be overemphasized how important libraries are to strong communities. They do so much more than loan books. They loan tools and kitchen appliances, they hold free legal clinics, they help with taxes, provide notaries, hold events for kids and seniors, and more… all for free at the point of service. That’s worth a few extra dollars every year, don’t you think?
And, it should be noted, we’re always wary of people who misrepresent the truth in order to achieve a goal. This inaccurate “road repair” rhetoric coming from opponents of the library has us raising our eyebrows. Why be dishonest about this?
Strong libraries indicate healthy communities. With all the troubles rural Arkansas faces, adding another rock to that pile seems unwise. Libraries across our great state show our commitment to healthy, vibrant communities. Let’s keep it that way.
