Libraries are the lifeblood of our communities, John.
They provide vital public services — free online access, job search services, summer youth programming, study spaces, community rooms, and public archive collections to name a few. That is why I find it distressing that the Norwin Public Library in Westmoreland County stands to lose 84% of its annual revenue on November 8.
Our organizing team is meeting with voters face-to-face daily and making hundreds of calls to get out the vote, and it’s not just for me, but to elect progressives and progressive causes up and down the ballot. Will you chip in $5 today so Team Summer can continue to get the word out about combatting ballot measures like cutting the Norwin Public Library budget?
Speaking to the Norwin Democrats at the Norwin Public Library a week ago.
Here are the details: A group of citizens are trying to defund the Norwin Public library, placing a question on the November 8 ballot that, if successful, would be catastrophic to the library and all the Norwin area residents that rely on their services.
The proposal would reduce local support from 1.2 mill to 0.2 mill — a devastating loss of $418,000. The library simply cannot survive an 84% cut in local funding.
To put these numbers in perspective: The current average cost to taxpayers to keep the Norwin Public Library at its current budget is less than $27 a year per household.
There is simply no good reason to cut library funding.
The Norwin Public Library loans more books than any other public library in Westmoreland County and welcomes tens of thousands of visitors every year, either to borrow books, attend a storytime, participate in a workshop, work with a tutor, seek technology assistance, or meet clients.
I’m running because three generations of my family relied on public libraries, and I believe in a world where vital public services, like libraries, can be fully funded instead of being placed on the chopping block, John.
It's on us to fight for this library's survival.
—Summer
