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.
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 later this month 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 submitted grant applications, but only cities without a library at all were awarded grant money. 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 Morgan Hill and Gilroy had letter-writing campaigns under way 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, 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.
The Office of Library Construction has a web site with grant information and reviews of local library applications. Check it out: olc.ca.gov
