Libraries are best investment for communities

Editor,

On the April 24 ballot, Sno-Isle Libraries is asking voters to restore 9 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value to the library district’s 2019 operating levy.

If approved, this one-time levy lift (not a new tax) would enable Sno-Isle Libraries to continue current levels of service for the next seven to 10 years.

The 23 Sno-Isle Libraries are valuable assets. In 2017 alone, 493,908 customers made 3.3 million visits to their community libraries and checked out 5.9 million items. Over 220,000 people attended Sno-Isle classes and events that year.

If we vote to approve the levy lift, it would restore the library operations levy rate to the 2009 voter-approved level, maintain library staffing to keep libraries open to support community needs, continue the purchase of library materials to reduce wait times for popular items, maintain bookmobile service for children and seniors and continue preparing preschoolers and students for success with early childhood development resources, homework help, and after-school STEM classes for K-12 students.

If we do not approve the levy lift, necessary budget cuts would limit library hours, reduce library staffing, diminish the purchase of books and other materials and decrease library programs and classes.

Money spent on public libraries is one of the best investments that a community can make in itself. The dividends are numerous and last for years. Thomas Jefferson once said, “Books are indeed with me a necessary of life…and I cannot live without books.”

When we look at the impact of Sno-Isle Libraries on the communities they serve, it is easy to see that our lives are enriched by our libraries and that it is money truly well spent.

Let’s all vote “yes” for our libraries on April 24.

Marshall F. Goldberg

Oak Harbor