Anyone here remember the movie, “Short Circuit 2?” In it, a naive robot, who thinks he is alive, is obsessed with collecting “input” or knowledge. As a middle school teacher, I identify with the character. Check out this scene from the movie in which the robot comes face to face with a massive bookstore, a treasure trove of input:

Certainly Capital Area District Library (CADL) provides input-seekers young and old with a vast array (terabytes!) of input. However, the CADL system doesn’t just offer media for borrowing and enjoyment. The CADL system is helping young children, teens, and adults stay mentally active year-round, especially in the summer months. The libraries offer scheduled group reading activities, song and dance, story-time events, live theater, family movies and a lot more. Check out all the summer activities here.

This video explains how programs, like those CADL offers during the summer, should be developed help fill the summer learning void:

As an educator, I concentrate on helping students develop the skills to be contributing members of a community. The library is a perfect place to practice using those skills. The library is a safe, comfortable and respectful place where community members can interact with one another, share knowledge and thoughts, be entertained and discover new things. It’s also a great equalizer, with free membership that allows all people access to its many resources, including free Internet.

The library system is maintained through civic support in many forms, especially the millage, which is up for renewal in the August 3 primary election. I encourage you to join me in showing our young people how as a community, we can participate in the political process to declare our support for the library system. Remember that scene from Short Circuit 2? “See those guys right there? They want to take your books away!” Let’s not be those guys and vote “Yes” to renew the CADL millage.

Mike Vasas is a Lansing resident who teaches middle school music.He runs a music blog project at http://songsnotbyme.com

Welcome to supportcadl.org, the official homepage for the Support CADL initiative.

The Capital Area District Library’s Board of Trustees approved a plan to place a renewal of the library’s operating millage on the August 2010 ballot.  This millage is not a new tax or a tax increase, but a renewal of the existing 4 year 1.56 mills, which expired on December 31, 2009.

Operation and maintenance of the CADL system are 85% – 90% funded by citizens’ tax dollars through this millage.  For an Ingham County resident who owns a home with a market value of $100,000 (and an assessed/taxable value of $50,000), the cost of the 1.56 mills will be approximately $78 a year.  Due to falling property values, tax revenues have already significantly decreased, actually making the renewal of the CADL millage a decrease instead of a straight renewal.  Rather than ask for additional funds, CADL has already responded to this decline by significantly reducing our 2009 and 2010 budgets without drastically reducing our services.

This millage renewal will enable CADL to remain open and to continue providing outstanding services, collections, technology, programs and, above all, value to the community.  This includes everything from job seeker support to small business resources, downloadable books, storytimes, special teen collections and educational and entertainment DVDs.  Should the renewal not pass, all 13 CADL libraries would close and the bookmobile would stop running as of January 3, 2011.  CADL would remain closed until operational funding is approved.

The Capital Area District Library serves all of Ingham County except the City of East Lansing. CADL operates thirteen libraries and a bookmobile, which makes 40 weekly stops throughout the County. Our 13 libraries are located in the communities of Aurelius, Dansville, Haslett, Holt-Delhi, Lansing, Leslie, Mason, Okemos, Stockbridge, Webberville and Williamston.  All of these locations share resources and provide residents of each community with access to all materials and services offered by CADL.