The vote to pull funding from Patmos Library in Michigan 'demonstrates why forces opposed to public libraries, schools, and the taxes that pay for them are culture warring so hard.'
The vote"demonstrates why forces opposed to public libraries, schools, and the taxes that pay for them are culture warring so hard," said one critic.A library in western Michigan is at risk of closing in the next year after town residents voted against a tax that would have funded 84% of the facility's budget, following a fight over a book with LGBTQ+ themes on the library's shelves.
The library staff attempted to compromise by placing the book behind the counter, but the residents formed a group called Jamestown Conservatives and pressured neighbors to vote against the millage, which would have added $24 to property taxes for the average home in the town. The library director resigned in the spring, citing harassment and claims that she was"indoctrinating" children., yard signs also appeared ahead of the vote reading,"50% millage increase to GROOM our kids? Vote NO on Library!", the library is likely to run out of funding by the fall of 2023, after its reserves of $325,000 are used up.