VOTERS KEEP THE DOORS OPEN

摘要

The referenda landscape of 2011 was punctuated by strong voter support to keep library doors open-but little more. Libraries took a cue from three long years of budget cuts, a struggling economy, dwindling consumer confidence, and weary taxpayers and ventured out to voters with markedly restrained requests. At a cursory glance the numbers for operating referenda seem positive. Fully 88 percent of libraries that asked their communities to fund them were rewarded with a "yes." In fact, the 2011 passage rate for operating referenda hit a ten-year high.