Yes on Measure I

I would like to add my voice to the chorus of endorsements for Santa Barbara’s Measure I, a modest tax increase critical to maintaining essential services for the City of Santa Barbara: police, fire, water, parks and recreation, and the Santa Barbara Public Library.

I have served on the Library Advisory Board for almost four years although I do not write in my official capacity as chair of the board. Besides supporting the robust city services that maintain our health, safety, and quality of life, Measure I’s passage is essential for keeping our library open seven days a week so that its contribution to Santa Barbara’s social infrastructure can continue.

In case anyone needs a reminder of the library’s role in our community, here are a few examples illustrating these contributions:

• Adult Print Books Borrowed = 172,389
• Children/Teen Print Books Borrowed = 308,743
• Adult eBooks Borrowed = 94,245
• Adult Audiobooks Borrowed = 106,528
• Programs Offered = 1,336
• Program Attendance, Adults = 18,046
• Program Attendance, Children/Teens = 18,973
• Library Van-on-the Go Stops = 355, with 12,000+ children, teen, and adult visitors
• Public Computer Use = 24,873 sessions
• Public WiFi Sessions = 155,809
• Reference Assistance/Research Transactions = 52,485 episodes
• Indoor Foot Traffic across Library Branches – 317,257

The above list is just a sample of the library’s contributions to our civic and social well-being last year. Likewise, the multiplier effect of the $532,676 spent on physical materials and $390,801 on digital materials in enhancing the capacity of our community to learn, grow, and contribute to the economy cannot be underestimated.

Along with the other essential services of Santa Barbara, the library deserves a YES vote on Measure I so that it can continue its extraordinary support for the quality of life in our fair city.