Although Morgan Hill and Gilroy didn’t earn a share of $138
million of Proposition 14 library money, South Valley citizens
shouldn’t give up hope.
Although Morgan Hill and Gilroy didn’t earn a share of $138 million of Proposition 14 library money, South Valley citizens shouldn’t give up hope. In fact, they should sharpen their pencils, break out their dictionaries and have some postage stamps handy, because there’s work to do.
Money from the voter-approved state bonds remains, and it will be doled out by the California Public Library Construction and Renovation Board in two more rounds of applications and grant distributions. Both cities plan to submit new applications in March for the second round of funding. Morgan Hill is seeking $13.3 million and Gilroy hopes for $11.4 million.
Both cities’ applications scored well in the first round of funding, in which approximately 56 cities sought grant money, but only cities without a library at all were awarded it. Local officials say odds are good Gilroy and Morgan Hill will secure a share of the $120 million to be distributed in the second round next year. The library board will distribute the final $90 million in a third round of grant-making.
South County citizens can help ensure the success of the cities’ second-round applications. Both Gilroy and Morgan Hill had letter-writing campaigns underway for the first round of funding; there’s no reason those campaigns need to stop.
The letters should be sent to: State Librarian’s Office, Dr. Kevin Starr, State Librarian of California, Office of Library Construction, 1029 J St., Suite 400, Sacramento, CA 95814-2825.
We’d suggest reminding the library board that South Valley has a high percentage of residents living in poverty and that our libraries, built in the 1970s, are much too small for our populations, which have exploded since the buildings were constructed and that our school libraries are inadequate and underfunded.
Officials from both cities will be spending the next few months tweaking their applications. If you’ve got an idea for improving their chances, contact your city librarian.
In Gilroy, that’s Lani Yoshimura, who can be reached at the Gilroy Library at 842-8207 or via e-mail at ly******@sc****.us. In Morgan Hill, contact Sarah Flowers at 779-3196.
