Author | Lightnews

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Ryan Marino, MD @ryanmarino.bsky.social · 2h

People are just now finding out that Chuck Schumer, whose closest advisor on major issues is an imaginary family he made up in his childhood (yes, really), might not be the best choice to lead in times like these

From the johnoliver community on Reddit: John Oliver breaks down how Chuck Schumer has based his entire political strategy on an entirely fictional Long Island couple named Joe and Eileen Bailey

Explore this post and more from the johnoliver community

www.reddit.com

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EveryLibrary @everylibrary.bsky.social · 14d

But who is going to fund that data?

EveryLibrary and EveryLibrary Institute are working on it.

EveryLibrary is the only org in the US that can use the data to support elections, political initiatives, and library ballot initiatives.

We’re all ears for your $500k ideas though.

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EveryLibrary @everylibrary.bsky.social · 14d

But this data would completely change how we can communicate with the voters about why libraries are important, why they should vote for them, and it would allow us to do effective VoterID and GOTV work during ballot initaitives.

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EveryLibrary @everylibrary.bsky.social · 14d

We literally have 0 data we need to rebuild public support for libraries.

It would be a $500k proposition to do it.

It's called "voter modeling," and it's very common in politics for causes and campaigns to build models that allow them to understand and engage their voters.

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EveryLibrary @everylibrary.bsky.social · 14d

We don’t know what messages to use to engage them.

Do they respond to messages about social justice, education, community, marginalized communities, etc?

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EveryLibrary @everylibrary.bsky.social · 14d

We don’t know what mediums they receive their messaging through.

Do library voters respond to direct mail, paid media, social media, influencer marketing, text messages, email, canvassing, phone banking?

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EveryLibrary @everylibrary.bsky.social · 14d

We don’t know WHY they vote for the library.

Are they voting for libraries because they believe in literacy, education, community, third space?

Do they believe in libraries or are they voting against the group who they believe are against libraries? (We saw this during Trump)

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EveryLibrary @everylibrary.bsky.social · 14d

For example, we don’t know WHO votes for libraries.

Is it Americans who are older, younger, wealthier, poorer?

Is it mothers, fathers, home owners, renters, grandparents?

Is it people who read Forbes magazine or people who drive blue Subarus?

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EveryLibrary @everylibrary.bsky.social · 14d

But it’s not enough. While the OCLC data was interesting and VERY helpful, it wasn’t useful.

We still don’t have the data we need to push back and win.

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EveryLibrary @everylibrary.bsky.social · 14d

And our industry just doesn't care.

Before @EveryLibrary our industry published only 4 articles per year on the politics of libraries.

That's why we publish and do trainings and conferences focused on the politics of FUNDING libraries.

everylibraryinstitute.org/publishing

The Political Librarian Journal

As an open source academic journal, The Political Librarian is dedicated to expanding the discussion of about library advocacy and activism while promoting research and new thinking about policy and funding issues for libraries.

everylibraryinstitute.org

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EveryLibrary @everylibrary.bsky.social · 14d

AND WE WERE UP TO 42% IN 2018!!!!

This is literally the ONLY thing we should be talking about in libraries.

Because this voter support is the only reason that we are able to exist at all!

This is the countdown clock to losing 98% of library funding

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EveryLibrary @everylibrary.bsky.social · 14d

That’s a problem because once over 50% of Americans are unwilling to vote for libraries, local ballot initiatives for libraries will fail at unprecedented rates.

We’ll also see legislators stop funding libraries because why would they fund something Americans don’t care about?

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EveryLibrary @everylibrary.bsky.social · 14d

This data was pre-moms for liberty, pre-groomer/pedophile rhetoric, pre-book banning movement.

Who knows what it is now?!?!

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EveryLibrary @everylibrary.bsky.social · 14d

The only time that this industry has ever measured political support in a meaningful way was the two awareness to funding studies by @OCLC in 2008 and 2018. What they found was terrifying.

They found that libraries had lost nearly 20% of voter support.

www.oclc.org/research/awa...

From Awareness to Funding: Voter Perceptions and Support of Public Libraries in 2018

This 2018 report investigates shifts in awareness, attitudes, and underlying motivations among US voters for supporting public library funding.

www.oclc.org

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EveryLibrary @everylibrary.bsky.social · 14d

What’s absolutely wild is that 80-90%+ of library funding has been political for over a hundred years in this country.

And the only reason we exist and can serve our communities is because of funding.

This is something that no library organization has ever attempted to address.

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EveryLibrary @everylibrary.bsky.social · 14d

About 90% of library funding comes from local taxes which are determined by local voters or local legislators.

3-5% comes from the state and 3-5% comes from the federal government.

That means 98% of library funding is political in nature.

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EveryLibrary @everylibrary.bsky.social · 14d

You want your library's doors open? - Funding

You want more open hours? - Funding

You want better pay? - Funding

You want bigger collections? - Funding

You want more services? - Funding

BUT - Funding = Politics

#library #libraries #libraryfunding #libraryadvocacy #librarianship

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @aoc.bsky.social · 5h

The average SNAP benefit per month is $177 a person.

The average ACA benefit per month is up to $550 a person.

People want us to hold the line for a reason. This is not a matter of appealing to a base. It’s about people’s lives.

And working people want leaders whose word means something to them.

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Katie Phang @katiephang.bsky.social · 6h

An agreement to agree to do a later vote is NOT an enforceable contract so what in the actual hell are Americans getting out of this deal??

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Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 6h

Sanders: That is a totally meaningless gesture. You can get 100 votes here and it won't mean anything because the House is not going to take it up.

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Pierre Polyester @canadian-critic.bsky.social · 1d

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maraleia @maraleia.bsky.social · 1d

Do not cave. See also any national anti-trans bullshit.

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Craig @thelordgod.bsky.social · 1d

Whatever you do, DO NOT fucking cave to these pricks. If you guys do, you deserve to get swept away with the rest of them.

Sincerely a U.S. Veteran who took an oath to defend this country against people like Trump.

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Senator Ron Wyden @wyden.senate.gov · 1d

Senate update: Republicans are now trying to sneak a backdoor national abortion ban into their government funding bill. Republicans will stop at nothing to control women's health care decisions.

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Taffy Marlington @taffymarlington.bsky.social · 1d

I appreciate this explanation about why Justice Ketanji Brown temporarily blocked SNAP. I figured it was for good reason.

Christopher Webb @cwebbonline.com · 1d

This is good, and should actually make us feel better.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson temporarily blocked a ruling that required Trump to fully fund SNAP because she’s playing chess, not checkers. She sent it back to the lower courts for a reason. 👀

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