Rosario Garza, a member of ALA’s governing Council, just posted some good news to the Council discussion list:
The residents of Los Angeles passes Measure L yesterday. The Measure L initiative will increase dedicated spending for the Los Angeles Public Library system by $50 million over the next few years without raising taxes! What this means is that the library will eventually be able to return to seven-days-a-week service for its central and eight regional libraries, and six-days-a-week service for the remaining 64 branch libraries.
Measure L passed in spite of opposition from the Los Angeles Times AND the League of Women Voters! The measure passed with 63% voter approval.
The LA Weekly, which has backed the measure for months through extensive coverage of the library funding crisis, has the details.
Can you read public sentiment now, Jay Leno? (Skip to 3:00 in this 4:35-minute video of Leno’s May 11, 2010, Tonight Show monologue.)