Even more reasons to vote “yes” on renewing the CADL millage:

From Flickr User: Library of Congress

1. Library usage is up, not down. In fact, it’s way up. And CADL is not asking for one penny of increased funding. Not one penny! Seriously.

2. If the millage passes, it doesn’t increase your current property taxes by one penny, and the 13 CADL branches and bookmobile continue to operate. If the millage fails, the library closes, and your property taxes won’t even decrease enough for you to notice. (Less than 3.5%. Seriously.)

3. Michigan needs to hold on to young, college-educated people, especially families. You’ve heard about “cool cities”? Yeah, I didn’t really buy that either. My family and I don’t live in a loft, and we don’t want to. We don’t want a new nightclub, or a cool place to shop downtown. We want a library. We want story hours. We want a safe place to bring our kids where they can have fun and learn and we can find information on how to kill the dandelions in my lawn or cook a good dinner faster. If you want to keep college graduates in state, fund the library. Seriously.

A recent national study confirmed what many already knew: free access to computers at the public library is a lifeline for patrons who do not have computer access at home.  What may be surprising is the sheer volume of patrons who rely on this service.  Nearly one-third of Americans aged 14 and older (about 77 million people) have used a public library computer or wifi network to access the Internet in the past year.  The four main areas where library computer usage has made the most impact are: job searching and career needs, health issues, educational needs, and linking patrons to government and civic resources.  CADL provides free computer usage and wifi access to its patrons, supporting this vital trend in our communities.

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.