Love Your Library? Write A Letter!
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Telling MyBayCity.com readers to support the library seems like preaching to the choir. Our readers are intelligent, well educated, and literate. Response to our articles supporting the upcoming Library millage renewal vote have been overwhelmingly positive.
The letters to the People's Forum in the Bay City Times seem to be going the other way. The negative letters outweigh the positive ones. Those NO voters are also citing inaccurate, illogical, and just plain wrong points.
Sunday's Times editorial was very good and made strong points supporting the Times' position that the library should be supported. But the final point was that those who support the library must speak up and do so loudly.
So here's your chance. Get out a pen an paper, or sit down at your computer, and write to the People's Forum stating your support for the library. You don't have to write a lot. Just make the point that libraries are an essential part of any modern community. Support is essential.
When you write, be sure to include your NAME, PHONE, and ADDRESS. State your point clearly. Before publishing any letter, the Times policy is to contact the writer by phone to confirm that they actually wrote the letter.
It's not necessary to write a long column. The Times likes letters that get to the point and are well written. If many people write on the same topic they will choose a representative letter and publish it.
Here's how to contact the Times:
- By Mail:
People's Forum
The Bay City Times
311 Fifth St.
Bay City, MI 48708
- By Fax:
(989) 893-0649
- By E-mail:
forum@bc-times.com
Facts and Figures from Citizens to Keep Our Libraries Open:
- People read more books now than at any time in history.
- Bay County is one of the most used libraries in the state with a usage rate of 8.9 items per patron. The state average is 6.1 items.
- Over 960,000 items have been checked out in the last 12 months. That's almost ONE MILLION items!
- Over 1,500 patrons visit the libraries DAILY!
- Over 81,000 people hold library cards. (And the library keeps the list up to date and purged of anyone who has not used their card in five years.)
- The millage tax for a person who owns a quarter million dollar home is $12.50 a month. The more typical homeowner pays less than $4 per month.
- The entire library project is under budget.
- Coffee shops are a standard feature of modern libraries. Over 20 new libraries in Michigan have coffee shops.
- The paid staff of the library had little to do with site selection or construction of the new main branch. That was done by elected officials and their appointed boards.
- The internet does not replace the library. Only 41% of Bay County homes have internet access and that access can cost $50 or more a month.
- Five libraries for the entire county is a good number. The main branch houses the library, public meeting rooms, and the administrative offices for the entire system.
- School libraries do not meet the needs of students. They have a narrow focus and are not even open full time. Even college students need the public library for full coverage.
- Sale of the old main Library to Thumb National Bank will result in more property tax income than all of the buildings replaced by the new library.
- Contact:
Citizens to Keep Our Library Open
1600 Center Ave.
P.O. Box 775
Bay City, MI 48707-0775
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