Archive: Opinions

By Tuesday we'd broken our record for the most 'Letters to the Editor' on a single topic in a single week.  The vote on whether Lansing should have a publicly funded library is stirring a lot of passions.  As the two sides dig in for the vote in two weeks, each side is refuting claims by the other.  The top issue is library proponents' claim that the library will close if the proposition to abolish it is successful.  Opponents say that isn't true.  They say there are many ways Lansing could have a library.

They're both right, at least theoretically.  But in reality it would almost certainly mean the end of any realistic prospect for a Lansing library.

A supporter myself, I have corresponded with or spoken to a number of library opponents, and I have to admit that they do have some creative ideas for a non-tax-based library.  Some say an all-volunteer effort was just fine.  One suggested a pay library where members would pay about $30 per year -- not very different from the average tax we're paying now.  She said that if library statistics for card-carrying members are accurate, the library could pay for itself, and noted that she would even fund some scholarships for kids in need to belong.

I like that idea -- theoretically -- because it means that the people who want a library get to have one, and those who couldn't care less don't pay for it.  I've never heard of a private library before and haven't thought out the ramifications of the scheme.  But it is thinking outside the box.

The reality of the situation as it stands right now, however, is that if the Yes votes win the library will be toast.  (A Yes vote means no library and a No vote means the library remains as-is.  It's bad enough that Michael Jackson made 'bad' mean 'good,' but this is confusing!)  State law does require that if the public library is abolished by a vote that its assets must be dispersed to other worthy institutions within the county.  I looked up the law -- it's for real.

That means that anybody who wants a library after a successful abolition vote -- volunteer, private, or otherwise -- would have to start again from scratch.  And the indications are that library proponents don't have enough energy to start all over again.  They have done a great job on the current library, pouring a lot of energy into giving a gift to the community that they are proud of.  But one of the reasons they needed a professional librarian was that the volunteer pool was tiring out.

While library opponents say they are in favor of a volunteer library not one that I have spoken to has said they would volunteer.  So the chances of keeping the library open with volunteers only, even if it were allowed  to keep its assets, seem slim.  In reality.

That's it -- reality versus rhetoric.  If we're being honest a Yes win on May 19th will mean no more library.  If that's what Lansing wants, so be it.  If it is clear that a true majority of Lansing people do or don't want it on the tax roles then I would be happy with that result.  Well, maybe not happy, but I would accept it in the same way that I accept a President of the United States that I didn't vote for.

Library supporters say it is a minority of Lansing people who don't want the library.  The first vote said they were wrong.  The second said they were right.  But not right or wrong by much -- neither of the past two votes were decisive.  One side has to win with hundreds of votes, not a victory in two digits.

We need a decisive win for one side or the other to take this issue off the table once and for all, but it important for both sides to be honest and realistic about what we are voting for.  The people who have worked so hard to bring a library to Lansing deserve that, and their opponents do, too.  We all do.

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