In A Nutshell

At the March 2006 Town Meeting in Antrim, New Hampshire residents overwhelmingly approved a $946,000 library expansion project providing 4,000 square feet of new space for the James A. Tuttle Public Library. 81% of the voters approved the project—after an earlier Town Meeting vote in which the proposal was rejected. What had changed?

According to local library advocates, three critical components of success were in alignment:

1. a supportive Board of Selectmen and Capital Improvements Committee,
2. strong leadership from library trustees, and
3. voters energized by a person-to-person campaign.

The latter included t-shirts, buttons, and hundreds of direct phone calls from the library director to library users to urge them to vote.  

Background

A strategic advocacy plan made this groundbreaking day possible at the James A. Tuttle Library.

Antrim is a formerly agricultural community of approximately 2500 residents located in southwestern New Hampshire. Average household income is approximately $46,760. Like many towns in New Hampshire, the economic base is changing, with more and more residents commuting to manufacturing or service jobs in nearby towns of Concord and Manchester. Summer residents and retirees are also re-shaping the community and raising expectations for library services and programs.

New Hampshire is one of a handful of states that does not provide state support for public libraries. All library support is therefore based on local property taxes. In some wealthier areas of the state, private support enhances local municipal budgets. In Antrim, there is a very limited base of individual or corporate donors. In this context, the support of local Selectmen and property owners is crucial for expansion of facilities and services.

Ten years ago library trustees in Antrim started to discuss how they might address the growing needs for space to provide much-needed services and programs. When the concept for library expansion was first introduced to the Town’s Selectmen, they were not interested in new fiscal obligations and Library Trustees were hesitant to make a case for expansion. Voters rejected the first warrant article put before the Town Meeting. Library officials believe the negative outcome reflected a poor turnout on the part of the many library supporters who were complacent about the need to vote.

Advocacy Goals

Tuttle Library officials’ advocacy goal was to gain local voters’ approval of a warrant article authorizing the town to carry out a library expansion project totaling $946,000. They needed voter support to convince the town to issue an $850,000 bond and to use $96,000 from the Capital Reserve Fund. They also needed every available library supporter to vote.

A detail of the proposed 4,000-foot James A. Tuttle Library expansion plan.

The proposed 4,000-foot expansion would:

• Double the size of the children’s area;

• Provide adequate space for shelving books contiguously

• Enable expanded meeting and programming space

• Restore key features of the existing building, including fireplaces, and create a Reading and Reference Room

• Provide separate spaces for distinct functions

• Create a computer area, staff workroom and an office.

Under current conditions, the library could not offer special programs while the building was open for public service. With growing demand for programs, librarians projected that new space would increase library use.

Special Challenge

Complacency on the part of library users and supporters was a particular challenge for Tuttle library officials and advocates. They had learned following the prior negative vote that many supporters had not actually turned out to vote, assuming that library expansion would be approved with no opposition. They had not realized how important their votes would be in the library expansion process. A statement to library users by Library Director Kathryn Chisholm addressed these issues:

Many people told us last time, “this is a no brainer; of course this will pass.”
No matter how tempted you are, you cannot stay at home and read; even if the weather is nasty... you must come. Readers and Library lovers must unite! We need your participation in this purest form of democracy.

Advocacy Strategies

Recognizing the prior complacency of self-identified library supporters, and the importance of project endorsement by Town officials, the Library’s Trustees, Director, staff and volunteers worked to address these issues. Despite limited resources, they were able to achieve their goals through the following strategies.

T-shirts help position the library as a cause.

Strategic Communications

Staff and advocates used every opportunity to generate interest in the library expansion project and to personally encourage users and supporters to attend the Town Meeting. They created t-shirts that the staff wore for months in advance of the vote, including outside the library. Patrons bought the t-shirts and wore them as well. Buttons about the vote were distributed at every possible location in the town. Staff members discussed the upcoming vote with library patrons, and many staff made personal phone calls to users and potential voters. The Library Director herself made hundreds of phone calls, starting months before the vote and then reminding people when the date arrived. Her philosophy was that face-to-face and telephone requests were essential in making people feel personally involved. Library Trustees assisted with the personal outreach as well.

Community Engagement

Aside from the personal contacts with users and potential votes, library staff involved young people in planning some of the library spaces. The young people, in turn, discussed the project in their homes. Many individuals were involved with space planning, prompting them to feel connected to the project.

Outreach to Local Officials

Library Trustees had good working relationships with the Town Administrator, Board of Selectmen and members of the Capital Improvements Committee. Importantly, a majority of these officials were supportive of the project, considering it a good investment for the Town.

The personal quality of Antrim’s campaign for library expansion is reflected in a personal thank-you message from the Director on the library’s website.

Breakthroughs

• The fact that all key areas of the support community—Town officials, Library Trustees, and key advocates—were in alignment at the time of the expansion vote was key to the popular vote.

• A personal phone-call campaign helped activate all potential voters.

• Staff wearing buttons and t-shirts didn’t hurt!

Looking Ahead

Workers prepare to pour concrete for the new addition to the Tuttle Library.

Construction has been on schedule and completion is slated for Fall 2007. At that point the Library Director plans to increase programming for parents of very young children, provide new services for youth, offer expanded collections and reference services, and provide a whole new array of programs for adults. Based on past experience, she believes that “if you build it they will come.