So then we pay the levy AND for a new library district?

I still think the rational is to avoid having the voters choose between books and street cars.

Levys are temporary fixes and not all that great as a funding mechanism. They allow for a program to continue, but not to grow. They prohibit any real long term planning by an organization, and keep a sense of “not knowing what’s next” at the forefront. Great employees are not particularly attracted to organizations needing a life line every 3 years to survive, and where continued employment might suddenly end at the conclusion of a funding cycle.

A renewal of the current levy in May seems more like insurance, just in case there is not enough momentum for the taxing district campaign in November. The levy will likely pass, probably because it asks only to keep current taxes pretty much at status quo. Seems a smart move if you are a friend of the library.

I'm completely in favor of funding libraries that are free and open for everyone. However, Multnomah County Public Library already has a budget, at $62 million dollars, that is far larger than any system in the country serving a similar sized population. Were it to be reduced by 10%, it would still be the largest. The Seattle Public Library has a budget that is 20% smaller, yet has more branches, a larger collection, and is open longer hours. Not to mention a central library that puts ours to shame. MPL instead chooses to spend its money on "social media initiatives' and lobbying. MPL will point to its circulation figures, but these numbers are so pumped up by their DVD collection check outs that it's hardly worth comparing to other libraries that concentrate on their original mission- books. It would be more cost effective to reduce MPL's budget and buy every family in Multnomah County a Netflix subscription. At a time when everyone is tightening their belts, MPL wants to grow. That it seeks to do this when many families are losing their homes in tax sales because they can't afford to pay ever increasing property taxes is unconscionable.

Put a great big glass bowl by the front door at all the branches so that patrons can contribute whatever they think it is worth. I'll bet it will fill up real fast.

Maybe the MPL budget is getting "skimmed" for non-library purposes like everything else around here.

What kind of a community do we live in, with street cars and pet projects taking over library, schools and public safety needs?

It feels so like a choke-hold on our community for insider's benefits.

These decision makers have no conscience and the people in our community will have to be engaged and proactive instead of just hoping things will get better.

Mike says a 10% cut still makes MPL one of the biggest system per capita. The Trib reports:

"Even if voters approve the levy in May, it still will leave the library system with a 10 percent cut in operating funds for one year, even after the county plugs in $10 million in emergency funds, Cogen said. That’s likely to result in shorter hours at library branches, and changes in staffing levels."

So by this logic, no increase amounts to a cut in funding.

The library already did cut hours several years ago. What next? No evenings, 1/2 days, closed on Sundays?

I would think a library is in many ways more "sustainable" for a healthy vital community than the proposed "Sustainable Center!"

I suspect Jeff Cogen has figured out that the library actually isn't as popular as many intellectuals think it is. Quite a few lower-income county residents never set foot in the library and are unlikely to be interested in a new taxing district. Cogen knows how to count votes.

Library cheerleaders have long resisted any efforts to reform their basic business model (yes, it's a business); but those days are coming to an end.

I know for a fact that a "child reading specialist" makes over $60k, plus bennies. Should librarians earn more than cops or school teachers?

Whatever fat is currently in the budget, you can be sure the patronage jobs become more numerous and well compensated when the trough is permanently expanded.

What kind of a community do we live in, with street cars and pet projects taking over library, schools and public safety needs?

Clinamen, we live in a communtity where there is little respect for democratic principles, where the arrogant few deeply believe they know what's best for the rest of us who they see as stupid and inferior in need of shepherding.

I think that about sums it up and frankly, also quite a few of the issues Jack shines a light on in this blog.