Fighting for What Matters: Referenda 2022

Libraries return to the ballot box following a COVID-impacted pause.

Libraries return to the ballot box following a COVID-impacted pause

During COVID-related shutdowns, library boards had a difficult time holding meetings to conduct normal business, let alone engage in the detailed planning and discussions that are necessary before going to the ballot. It was even more difficult to engage with other community-based organizations, colleagues in education, and the business sector when society was so thoroughly disrupted. But the library sector is beginning to recover from that pause. Back in 2021, we saw fewer libraries on the ballot (89) than at any other time in recent memory. In 2022, with 175 ballot questions, the total number returned to closer to normal. But it is important to note that—as in 2021—most operating questions in 2022 were renewals. When most referenda are simply renewals, the sector continues to leave vital new funding for salaries, collections, programs, and technology off the table.

OPERATING REFERENDA 2022

LOCATION LIBRARY RESULT % YES % NO
ALASKA
Ketchikan Ketchikan Public Library FAIL 43 57
ARKANSAS
Craighead County Craighead County Jonesboro Public Library PASS 62 38
Jonesboro Craighead County Jonesboro Public Library PASS 50.1 49.9
CALIFORNIA
Cupertino Santa Clara County Library District PASS 59 41
Marin City Marin County Free Library PASS 76 24
Oakland Oakland Public Library PASS 82 18
Pasadena Pasadena Public Library PASS 85 15
San Anselmo San Anselmo Library PASS 85 15
San Francisco San Francisco Public Library PASS 83 17
South Pasadena South Pasadena Public Library PASS 87 13
Ukiah Mendocino County Library PASS 60 40
COLORADO
Denver Denver Public Library PASS 68 32
Florence John C. Fremont Library District FAIL 42 58
Oak Creek South Routt Library District PASS 80 20
FLORIDA
St. Augustine St. Johns County Public Library System FAIL 37 63
ILLINOIS
Crest Hill Oak Library District FAIL 45 55
LOUISIANA
DeRidder Beauregard Parish Library PASS 70 30
MICHIGAN
Alanson Alanson Area Public Library PASS 60 40
Allendale Allendale Township Library PASS 55 45
Alma Gratiot County Libraries PASS 68 32
Athens Athens Community Library PASS 70 30
Belleville Belleville Area District Library PASS 59 41
Benona Shelby Area District Library PASS 58 42
Benton Harbor Benton Harbor Public Library PASS 75 25
Big Rapids Big Rapids Community Library PASS 62 38
Bridgman Bridgman Public Library PASS 77 23
Burlington Burlington Township Library PASS 53 47
Cadillac Cadillac Wexford Public Library FAIL 43 57
Cadillac Cadillac Wexford Public Library PASS 55 45
Camden Camden Township Library PASS 54 46
Cass City Rawson Memorial Library PASS 70 30
Cassopolis Cass District Library PASS 52 48
Chikaming Township New Buffalo, Three Oaks, & Bridgman Public Libraries PASS 63 37
Clarkston Clarkston Independence District Library PASS 68 32
Climax Lawrence Memorial District Library PASS 50.2 49.8
Coldwater Branch District Library PASS 63 37
Coloma Coloma Public Library PASS 74 26
Colon Colon Township Library PASS 70 30
Commerce Commerce Township Community Library PASS 67 33
Dexter Dexter District Library PASS 69 31
East Lansing East Lansing Public Library PASS 85 15
East Tawas Iosco-Arenac District Library PASS 65 35
Fennville Fennville District Library PASS 70 30
Fowlerville Fowlerville District Library PASS 60 40
Fraser Fraser Public Library PASS 58 42
Grand Ledge Grand Ledge Area District Library PASS 65 35
Hamburg Hamburg Township Library PASS 56 44
Harrison Township Harrison Township Public Library PASS 57 43
Hartland Cromaine District Library PASS 60 40
Hesperia Hesperia Community LIbrary PASS 55 45
Hudson Hudson Carnegie District Library PASS 59 41
Jamestown Patmos Library FAIL 37 63
Jamestown Patmos Library FAIL 44 56
Lansing Capital Area District Library PASS 69 31
Lapeer Lapeer District Library PASS 53 47
Marlette Marlette District Library PASS 74 26
Marquette Peter White Public Library PASS 77 23
Mayville Mayville District Public Library PASS 67 33
Millington Millington Arbela District Library PASS 65 35
Mio Oscoda County District library FAIL 48 52
Mio Oscoda County District library PASS 52 48
Newberry Tahquamenon Area Public Library PASS 55 45
Northville Northville District Library PASS 82 18
Owosso Shiawassee District Library PASS 54 46
Pigeon Pigeon District Library PASS 75 25
Port Huron St. Clair County Library System PASS 61 39
Reading Reading Community Library PASS 58 42
Redford Charter Twp. Redford Township District Library PASS 68 32
Royal Oak Royal Oak Public Library PASS 72 28
Saginaw Thomas Township Library PASS 67 33
Sebewaing Sebewaing Township Library PASS 77 23
Spring Lake Spring Lake District Library PASS 61 39
Temperance Bedford Branch Library PASS 67 33
Vassar Bullard Sandford Memorial Library PASS 70 30
Waterford Twp. Waterford Township Public Library PASS 61 39
West Branch Peter White Public Library PASS 75 25
White Lake White Lake Township Library PASS 59 41
White Pine Carp Lake Township Library PASS 74 26
MISSOURI
Kirksville Adair County Public Library FAIL 47 53
NEW MEXICO
Albuquerque Albuquerque Bernalillo County Library PASS 68 32
NEW YORK
Albany Albany Public Library PASS 81 19
Batavia Richmond Memorial Library PASS 80 20
Canton Canton Free Library PASS 82 18
East Fishkill East Fishkill Public Library PASS 74 26
Florida Florida Public Library PASS 80 20
Geneva Geneva Public Library PASS 72 28
Gloversville Gloversville Public Library PASS 72 28
Guilderland Guilderland Public Library PASS 66 34
Kingston Kingston Public Library PASS 88 12
Lowville Lowville Free Library PASS 80 20
Mahopac Mahopac Public Library PASS 70 30
Middle Island Longwood Public Library PASS 75 25
Middletown Middletown Thrall Library PASS 72 28
Smithtown The Smithtown Library PASS 73 27
West Hempstead West Hempstead Public Library PASS 51 49
Woodstock Woodstock Public Library PASS 77 23
OHIO
Alliance Rodman Public Library PASS 67 33
Archbold Archbold Community Library PASS 66 34
Ashtabula Ashtabula County District Library PASS 54 46
Bettsville Bettsville Public Library PASS 71 29
Cardington Cardington-Lincoln Public Library FAIL 49.6 50.4
Carey Dorcas Carey Public Library PASS 79 21
Columbus Grandview Heights Public Library PASS 87 13
Defiance Defiance Public Library PASS 72 28
Delphos Delphos Public Library PASS 76 24
Fairport Harbor Fairport Harbor Public Library PASS 65 35
Huron Huron Public Library PASS 74 26
Loudonville Loudonville Public Library PASS 71 29
Martins Ferry Belmont County Library District PASS 70 30
Monroeville Monroeville Public Library PASS 57 43
Mt. Sterling Mt. Sterling Public Library PASS 53 47
Mt. Victory Ridgemont Public Library PASS 63 37
New Carlisle New Carlisle Public Library PASS 69 31
Pomeroy Meigs County District Public Library PASS 69 31
Richwood Richwood-North Union Public Library PASS 64 36
Rossford Rossford Public Library PASS 72 28
St. Paris St. Paris Public Library PASS 56 44
Toledo Toledo Lucas County Public Library PASS 72 28
Upper Arlington Upper Arlington Public Library PASS 76 24
Wadsworth Wadsworth Public Library PASS 71 29
Wooster Wayne County Public Library PASS 54 46
OREGON
Keizer Keizer Community Library FAIL 45 55
Tillamook Tillamook County Library PASS 61 39
Union Union Carnegie Public Library PASS 65 35
Warrenton Warrenton Community Library FAIL 49 51
PENNSYLVANIA
Irwin Norwin Public Library FAIL 36 64
Southwest Greensburg Greensburg Hempfield Area Library FAIL 46 54
VERMONT
Montpelier Kellogg-Hubbard Library PASS 88 12
WASHINGTON
Castle Rock Castle Rock Public Library FAIL* 58 42
Castle Rock Castle Rock Public Library FAIL* 57 43
WEST VIRGINIA
Charleston Kanawha County Public Library PASS 65 35
Parkersburg Parkersburg and Wood County Public Library FAIL* 56 44
Parkersburg Parkersburg and Wood County Public Library PASS 67 33
Weirton Hancock County Libraries FAIL* 64 36

SOURCE: LJ PUBLIC LIBRARY REFERENDA 2022
* Supermajority required for passage

Overall in 2022, there were 175 ballot questions on the primaries and midterms for 164 individual libraries. Of these, 134 were for operations and 32 were for building initiatives, while the remaining nine focused on the library’s governance (e.g., becoming a district). There was one statewide ballot measure in New Mexico for the state aid General Obligation Bond (GO Bond) package that passed handily. Fully 87 percent of operating questions passed, which is on par with the 10-year running average of 90 percent.

Ballot questions asking for new funding are always the most difficult, with only eight out of 11 passing. The percentage of operating budget votes that passed in the South and West was considerably lower than in the Northeast and Midwest, where the libraries are smaller and more localized. Ohio and Michigan combined account for more than half (92) of all the questions on the ballot throughout the year.

Large urban libraries continue to be supported by their voters, with several major American cities approving funding for library operations. Denver passed Referred Question 2L, a new levy that will generate $36 million annually. San Francisco voted for Measure F, which will continue the Library Preservation Fund charter through 2048. Voters across the Toledo–Lucas County Library service area passed Issue 11, a renewal of a 3.7 mil five-year operating levy.

Other highlights include the enactment of the first local option 10-year levy for the Monroeville Public Library in Ohio, an increase in the sales tax in Mendocino County, CA, for library operations, and the removal of tax caps on the South Routt Library District in Oak Creek, CO. Unfortunately, Adair County Public Library, MO, failed to pass its first new tax increase since 1986, while Ionia, MI, continues to defeat new operational millages even as the percentage of support increases each election.

New Mexico’s biennial GO Bond for Libraries passed with over 63 percent support and will provide state aid for public, academic, school, and tribal libraries. The authorized amount was increased by the legislature from $9 million to over $19 million following a campaign by library stakeholders to expand its impact. The largest margin of victory this year looks like it was for the Kellogg-Hubbard Library in Montpelier, VT, which garnered an 88.26 percent approval to spend $395,696 in fiscal year 2022–23.

BUILDING REFERENDA 2022

LOCATION LIBRARY RESULT % YES % NO
ARKANSAS
Little Rock Central Arkansas Library System PASS 68 32
CALIFORNIA
Beaumont Beaumont Library District FAIL* 50.4 49.6
Santa Cruz Santa Cruz Public Libraries FAIL 40 60
CONNECTICUT
Manchester Manchester Public Library PASS 63 37
IOWA
Story City Bertha Bartlett Public Library PASS 73 27
Slater Slater Library FAIL* 52 48
KANSAS
Eudora Eudora Community Library FAIL 45 55
MAINE
Scarborough Scarborough Public Library FAIL 40 60
MARYLAND
Baltimore Enoch Pratt Free Library PASS 86 14
MASSACHUSETTS
Belmont Belmont Public Library PASS 58 42
Seekonk Seekonk Public Library FAIL* 66 34
Swansea Swansea Free Public Library PASS 70 30
Westborough Westborough Public Library PASS 66 34
Orange Wheeler Memorial Library FAIL 49 51
MICHIGAN
New Baltimore Chesterfield Township Library FAIL 39 61
Ionia Ionia Community Library FAIL 49.6 50.4
Ionia Ionia Community Library FAIL 42 58
South Lyon Lyon Township Public Library PASS 58 42
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Milford Wadleigh Memorial Library FAIL 49.8 50.2
NEW MEXICO
Statewide Libraries statewide PASS 63 37
NEW YORK
Kingston Kingston Public Library PASS 83 17
Mahopac Mahopac Public Library PASS 69 31
Victor Victor Farmington Library FAIL 30 70
NORTH CAROLINA
Greensboro Vance H. Chavis Branch Library PASS 67 33
OREGON
Coos Bay Coos Bay Public Library FAIL 39 61
Salem Salem Public Library PASS 65 35
TEXAS
Fort Worth Fort Worth Public Library PASS 61 39
Houston Houston Public Library PASS 69 31
Corpus Christi La Retama Central Library PASS 59 41
San Antonio San Antonio Public Library PASS 65 35
WASHINGTON
Birch Bay Birch Bay Vogt Community Library PASS 57 43
Friday Harbor San Juan Island Library District FAIL 42 58

SOURCE: LJ PUBLIC LIBRARY REFERENDA 2022
* Supermajority required for passage

Building initiatives pass at a lower rate than operational levies, and in 2022 construction and renovation questions saw mixed results with 56 percent passing, which is well below the 10-year average of 67 percent. In Texas, Houston voters endorsed Prop F, a $26 million improvement bond, and Fort Worth approved $12.5 million via Prop C bonds. The Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore is now authorized to issue debt for infrastructure projects. The town of Belmont, MA, approved a $39 million debt extension to construct a new library. Salem, OR, approved a bond package that includes $7.5 million for two mixed-use library and affordable housing projects. Lyon Township, MI, will be building a new $12.8 million library after voter ratification. This follows the defeat of a similar project in 2018. Voters ended an impasse for Santa Cruz Public Libraries, CA, when Measure O, a voter initiative that would have halted construction of a new downtown library, was defeated. However, voters in Chesterfield Township, MI, again rejected a library building project that first went to vote in 2020.

Governing questions are always difficult to define as a win or loss, especially in 2022 when several measures to restructure or even defund a library were on the ballot. In Michigan, voters established an independent board for the Leelanau Township Library but failed to approve a district for Millstadt. Boulder Public Library, CO, became the newest independent library district in the country when voters approved establishing a district with new boundaries beyond the city limits. Southington, CT, ratified a charter amendment that puts responsibility for the library and museum’s personnel and finances under the town manager. The town of Morton, WA, voted to leave the Timberland Regional Library, a five-county system. Johnson City, OR, voters declined to be annexed into the Library District of Clackamas County. The community of Minisink Valley, NY, will continue to be the only school district in New York to not have an independent library.

LIBRARY GOVERNANCE REFERENDA 2022

LOCATION LIBRARY RESULT % YES % NO
COLORADO
Boulder Boulder Public Library PASS 52 48
CONNECTICUT
Southington Southington Public Library PASS 56 44
ILLINOIS
Glen Carbon Glen Carbon Centennial Library District FAIL 31 69
Millstadt Millstadt Library District FAIL 32 68
MICHIGAN
Yankee Springs Henika District Library FAIL 27 73
Northport Leelanau Township Library PASS 68 32
NEW YORK
Minisink Minisink Valley Public Library FAIL 15 85
OREGON
Johnson City Library District of Clackamas County FAIL 30 70
WASHINGTON
Morton Timberland Regional Library PASS 59 41

SOURCE: LJ PUBLIC LIBRARY REFERENDA 2022

BOOK BANS ARE AN EMERGING FACTOR

All decisions to fund libraries are inherently political. In politics, the factors that connect voters to both candidates and the issues live at the intersection of individual values and group identity. Candidates or issue campaigns need to demonstrate how they are in line with the value system of a voter before the voter will back the candidate or cause. Likewise, for voters to identify with a party—or even as an independent—the identity that the party espouses is a proxy for the way voters validate the legitimacy of a ballot question or down-ticket candidate. As our colleagues at PEN America note in their September 2022 “Banned in the USA Survey,” the majority of book bans are targeting books with LGBTQIA+ themes and narratives, or stories of BIPOC communities. Some book banners succeeded in using language around concern for children alongside messages painting the library and librarians as negligent, or even as predators, as a wedge issue on election day.

In certain places, censorship crusaders use 2022 ballot questions as the logical endpoint of book banning campaigns. The Glen Carbon Centennial Library District, IL, saw an advisory referendum pass that would forbid taxpayer funding of Drag Queen Story Times. For libraries like Craighead County Jonesboro Public Library (CCJPL), AR, and the Patmos Library in Jamestown Township, MI, the efforts by anti-LGBTQIA+ activists to defund the library succeeded. In both places, demands to ban books had been turned down by the library after following proper policy and legal procedures. In both places, the anti-access forces pivoted to ballot campaigns to defund the library. Both employed ugly, hateful, and inaccurate images about the library and attacked the reputations of librarians. These campaigns used incendiary labels like “groomer” and “pedophile” printed on yard signs, posted on social media, and spread around town. Both campaigns received national attention when author and library champion Nora Roberts made major donations to the libraries. Unfortunately, both defunding efforts succeeded. The Patmos Library levy expired on January 1 and the CCJPL budget is now cut by 50 percent.

These types of defunding efforts did not succeed everywhere. In Gateway Borough, AK, the Ketchikan Public Library budget survived a targeted push by book banners to remove funding for the library. Likewise, anti-LGBTQIA+ campaigners were active in opposition to the Parkersburg & Wood County Public Library, WV, levy renewal that passed in November 2022 after failing in May. In a year with so many asterisks, not all defunding questions were driven by censorship. In Westmoreland County, PA, an anti-tax group called the Friends of the Norwin Library Reform launched a campaign to defund libraries in the county. While that group was not associated with censorship, it is exemplary of the unstable political situation in certain areas. Not all defunding campaigns were negative, either. The Central Arkansas Library System voluntarily asked voters to eliminate a surplus levy in order to right-size its operations.

We know from OCLC’s “From Awareness to Funding” surveys of American voters that support for libraries on a generic ballot question declined from 74 percent in 2008 to 55 percent in 2018, the most recent year of the survey. In that same period, appreciation for librarians dropped for key factors such as trust, appreciation, and approachability. Those declines happened in a political climate influenced by the Great Recession, the rise of the Tea Party, and the first half of the Trump administration—and prior to COVID shutdowns, fights over masking rules during the pandemic, and, most important, the current unrest over content, censorship, and book bans in school and public libraries.

2022 REFERENDA SUMMARY

OPERATING REFERENDA BUILDING REFERENDA
NUMBER OF MEASURES % PASSING Avg. % For Avg. % Against NUMBER OF MEASURES % PASSING Avg. % For Avg. % Against
TOTAL REFERENDA 134 87% 65% 35% 32 56% 57% 43%
TIME OF YEAR
January-April 5 100% 78% 22% 3 33% 51% 49%
May-August 65 91% 65% 35% 8 63% 56% 44%
September-December 64 81% 64% 36% 21 57% 59% 41%
AMOUNT
Under $10 million n/a n/a n/a n/a 8 50% 55% 45%
Over $10 million n/a n/a n/a n/a 19 63% 59% 41%
REGION
Northeast 19 90% 72% 28% 11 55% 59% 41%
Midwest 88 92% 64% 36% 7 29% 51% 49%
South 8 63% 59% 41% 7 100% 68% 32%
West 19 68% 66% 34% 7 43% 51% 49%

SOURCE: LJ PUBLIC LIBRARY REFERENDA 2022

If we are coming out of a COVID-influenced pause in ballot questions, we cannot allow new hesitancies over book bans and censorship campaigns to slow down our return to the ballot. If 2022 results are any indication, support for libraries by local voters remains very high across the country. But the American electorate is unsettled and unsure in many places. In a September 2022 voter survey by the EveryLibrary Institute, we learned that 95 percent of Democrats, 80 percent of independents, and 53 percent of Republicans are against book bans and consider book bans when voting.

We also learned that only 51 percent of voters are absolutely against book bans and censorship. Eight percent of voters are perfectly willing to ban books and say so outright. The remaining 41 percent of voters are persuadable that certain books at certain times could be banned. They are most uncomfortable with books about sex, sexuality, and gender identity. Books about our history of racial animosity and unrest are a close second.

The lesson of 2022 election days for libraries is that they must be the first to defend themselves and the first to define themselves. Library leaders need to be very aware and active in the face of potential or ongoing book bans, censorship, and anti-LGBTQIA+ actions. Campaigners from Michigan to Arkansas and Pennsylvania to Alaska have shown that librarians, library workers, and the library can be labeled as the source of danger for children even as they claim the mantle of defending free speech.

PASSAGE RATE TRENDING

OPERATING REFERENDA BUILDING REFERENDA
PERCENTAGE PERCENTAGE
YEAR NUMBER PASS FAIL NUMBER PASS FAIL
2022 134 87% 13% 32 56% 44%
2021 64 94% 6% 22 77% 23%
2020 146 90% 10% 20 85% 15%
2019 124 93% 7% 24 71% 29%
2018 109 88% 12% 41 61% 39%
2017 85 98% 2% 39 72% 28%
2016 121 86% 14% 47 68% 32%
2015 123 94% 6% 21 43% 57%
2014 147 81% 19% 33 73% 27%
2013 146 88% 12% 30 63% 37%
AVERAGE: 120 90% 10% 31 67% 33%

SOURCE: LJ PUBLIC LIBRARY REFERENDA 2022

John Chrastka is Executive Director of EveryLibrary, the national political action committee for libraries.

Author Image
John Chrastka

John Chrastka, a 2014 LJ Mover & Shaker, is Founder and Executive Director of EveryLibrary, a nonprofit organization that advocates for local library ballot initiatives.

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Beth Jacoby

This is happening elsewhere in different forms. At my institution, the President & then Provost decided no new librarians would have faculty status. (This is the same President whose mission when she stepped foot on campus was to dismantle the library and plan a new "commons" building to replace the physical library with a new student union that looks like a mall. How sad to see how far academe has fallen.) Those of us with faculty status who earned tenure still have it, but as we retire or resign, new librarians are not getting faculty status. The irony is that our information literacy librarian, who TEACHES regularly, was hired without faculty status.

Posted : 2022-07-08 12:19:56


dee mosi

Tragic to see the dumbing down of America at the university level. Devaluing Librarians and the important roles they play is an unfortunate and disturbing decision. Intellectual Excellence as a university's goal is now replaced by what? Saving a few dollars? Reminds me of the decision maybe 8 years back of a private northeastern high school new Head Master to get rid of all the books & the librarian for a groovy Starbucks look. Five years later, he had to restore all the books & search for a librarian willing to take a risk on the "shiny new thing" Head Master.

Posted : 2022-07-07 19:48:07


David Tyler

Sad to see Texas A&M's Marian Paroo fall so easily and so quickly for Professor Harold Hill's con.

Posted : 2022-06-29 19:09:51


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