Whopping victory for library tax

It is gratifying indeed that our community recognizes the value of a community library – so much so that a continuation of the library parcel tax passed with a whopping 81 percent of the vote. Getting the necessary two-thirds majority to continue the $33.66 per year charge for a single family home was not a problem.
As heartening as the passage is, the turnout – just under 30 percent – for a mail-in ballot is a head scratcher. Are people really that busy?
Regardless, our library will not have to shut down another day each week, the programs currently offered like the bookmobile and summer youth reading programs will stay in place, and patrons will continue to stream in the doors.
By the way, if you don’t have a current library card, change that. The library is bursting with opportunities for reading – and watching or listening – experiences and it’s free.
We do wish that the library would be open on Sundays and Mondays. Clearly, patrons would use the facility and, though hindsight is 20-20, perhaps another $10 per year on the parcel tax would have been approved to make that happen.
It still can, and we urge Mayor Steve Tate in Morgan Hill and Mayor Don Gage in Gilroy to converse with each other and consider a plan of action to make that happen for their respective communities.
Our libraries are places when children learn to love reading. They are places of study and exploration. They are safe havens in a busy world and a place where community happens – whether that’s a meeting or a book club or a class on computer programming. Libraries are not outdated, they remain relevant and places of great value.
Clearly the voting public recognizes that and stands ready to support a cultural institution that raises up the quality of life for those who take advantage of what is offered.
Paying $33 a year to keep our libraries running at full steam is one incredible bargain. Nice job voters.