Backers of a library funding levy gathered Tuesday in front of the Eugene Public Library downtown to kick off their campaign. Measure 20-35 is a 5-year local option levy to fund library services. It will be on the November 3rd ballot.
The levy would raise $2.7 million a year to pay for materials, programs, and restore open hours at the downtown and branch libraries.
Margaret Hanson is a board member with the Bethel Education Foundation. She describes how her son had finished a book at 9 in the morning and wanted to check out the next one in the series, but the library didn't open until 2 that day.
"But what if he was a child that needed a safe place to be that morning? Last year, I was at the Bethel Branch Library with a middle school principal. She noticed a girl in the corner and said, 'I'm glad she's here. Her home is rough and I'm glad she has a safe place to be'"
Hanson says having longer hours will also benefit seniors and people on fixed incomes who don't have easy access to transportation. Levy backers estimate the cost to the average homeowner to be $36 per year over 5 years.
