In A Nutshell

One year after closing its doors due to the failure of a property-tax override, the Hampden (MA) Free Public Library reopened for 25 hours per week as of July 1, 2006.  Energetic advocates were responsible for rallying community support to revive funding for the library. 

Background

Westfield MA, part of Hampden County, 1875

The 114-year-old Hampden (MA) Free Public Library was forced to close on June 30, 2005, due to local voters’ rejection of a $584,000 Proposition 21⁄2 override. The override included $108,000 to finance the library for the fiscal year.

Massachusetts Proposition 21⁄2 stipulates that property taxes can be raised no more than 2.5% of the previous year's levy unless approved by a townwide ballot. The “no” vote on the lump-sum $584,796 ballot to help the town operating budget affected other town services as well, closing the senior center and cutting the budgets of the local police force and road maintenance. Inclusion of the library within the entire measure made it hard to succeed in the override. Many voters did not understand the immediate implications of their vote for continuation of library services.

Advocates fought for the funds to open the library again, achieving their goal when voters at the annual town meeting in April 2005 approved $70,000 for the library’s 2006–07 budget, according to the June 21 Springfield Republican, $30,000 less than the library’s last fiscal year prior to its June 30, 2005 closure.

Advocacy Goals

• Raise awareness in the community of the urgent need for funding to reopen the library.
  
  
• Demonstrate to the public the loss that the Hampden Library’s closing would mean for its users and for the community, especially for children.

Special Challenge

Raising awareness of the need for library funding was a pressing challenge in Hampden. Resident Kaiser Ehlers, quoted in the Springfield Republican (July 6, 2005), said of the original override vote that voters did not realize that a “no” vote on a lump-sum to help the town operating budget meant the library would close. Inclusion of the library in the general budget and requiring an “override” for the whole budget meant it was not possible for residents to separate library funding from other funding. In addition, most voters did not understand the immediate implications of the negative override vote.

Advocacy Strategies


Community Engagement

Advocates began their campaign immediately, gathering several hundred for a rally outside the library on the day it closed in 2005. Trustee Chair Beth E. Burger was already using active campaign language, saying “We are closed, but we are working hard toward reopening.”

Resident Patricia Kaiser Ehlers started a petition drive for a special town meeting in September to raise funds for the library, according to The Springfield Republican.

Private Sector Fundraising

The Friends of the Library strove to fill the gap while the library was closed by running book swaps and speaking out about the need for the library to be reopened. They made every effort to educate the private sector along with local voters. 

Strategic Communications

In a strong and persuasive article in the July 2005 Hampden Village Voice, Ellen Bump, then-Director of the Library, and three trustees pointedly let the community know exactly which programs they would miss because of the library’s closing, and how popular those programs had been. The article included five pictures of children enjoying the library’s services. The authors pointed out that “children will be DENIED ACCESS to over 6000 exciting children’s books,” and described the popular children’s programming that would be closed along with the library. These programs included classroom visits, toddler time, story hour, the annual summer reading program, and a homework center.  The authors provided specific numbers for attendance at these programs in years past—a persuasive use of their own statistics.

In other strategic communications, one child in particular gained publicity for the cause by writing a letter to Santa saying that all she wanted for Christmas was “our little town library open again.” This proved fodder for a poignant piece titled “Girl to Santa: Reopen library,” which ran in the Republican on Christmas Eve, 2005.

Looking Ahead

The library hired Carol Scheier, formerly manager of the East Springfield branch of Springfield City Library, as director when the library reopened. Two other staffers, Youth Services Librarian Christina Fairman and Technical Services Librarian Cynthia Rowley, returned to the library. 

The library is continuing to reach out and communicate with their community through a blog.