TODAY IS THE DAY!!!

It’s the day we’ve been working toward for … well, for a while. And it will all be for nothing if you don’t fulfill your civic duty and head to the polls by 8 pm today. Not sure where to vote? Check out this website. Just enter your name,birth month and year, and zip code to discover your voting location. It’s really pretty simple! Just remember that the CADL ballot question is on the BACK of your ballot, and please vote YES to keep Capital Area District Libraries open. (Remember: if the renewal fails, all CADL branches will close January 3, 2011!)

If you’re really in to supporting CADL, head out to Kelly’s in Downtown Lansing starting at 5 pm to watch the results come in with Support CADL volunteers and CADL staff. If you can’t make it to Kelly’s, keep your eye on the Ingham County Clerk’s website beginning at 8 pm to watch the results come in – just remember to refresh the webpage every half hour or so .

It is without question that CADL is devoted to enhancing our community.  This is immediately obvious when one reads the library’s mission, which states, “Committed to the values of a democratic society, the Capital Area District Library shall provide access to ideas and information that support continuous learning and enhance the quality of life.”  CADL uses its thirteen branches, bookmobile, services to home bound patrons, and online presence to promote a higher standard of living in our local community by providing free access to information to all of its patrons.  Additionally, the library continues to grow in relevance, with dramatic increases in all areas of usage.

In 2009, CADL checked out 2,729,000 items.  This is a 41% increase from the 1,930,300 items checked out just four years earlier in 2005.  These items include everything from children’s books to test taking materials to popular DVDs.    CADL also provides access to ideas via technology, and recognizes the need for free access to computers to bridge the technology divide.  CADL has met this need by increasing the number of public usage computers by 83% in the past decade.  In 2009 alone, 284,000 hours were used on the public computers, and 30,730 hours of free WiFi were accessed within the library system. (Source: http://cadl.org/news/adding-value)

These statistics are impressive, and alone prove the vital nature of the library to its service population.  The most convincing statistic of all is this: 1,551, 300 visits were made to Capital Area District Library branches last year.  This is up 69% from the year 2000, shortly after the library district was formed.  These over 1.5 million visits were made to check out materials, use public access computers, attend library programs, and to ask library staff for assistance finding information.  Without CADL, Ingham County would have far less opportunities to educate itself on any available topic of knowledge.  Support CADL, and support a public institution which provides an invaluable service to your community. Vote to renew the Capital Area District Library’s millage August 3.