On September 19th, members of the NMLA Legislation Committee and the Bonds for Libraries PAC met at the Belen Public Library to plan for bond legislation in the 2010 Legislature. David Giltrow reviewed the 2008 campaign, and there was extended discussion about timing, campaign materials and media placement. The lack of donations limited the number of radio spots that could be purchased. Cynthia Shetter noted that some Friends groups didn’t think the spots were effective, and others noticed that no spots ran in their areas. Linda Morgan Davis suggested using new media like Facebook and Twitter to reach younger voters.
The need for more participation by the library community in the bond campaign was discussed. The regional coordinator structure which worked well in 2002 had only spotty participation by 2008. Kathleen Teaze said that the Las Cruces library leadership meets regularly to coordinate support efforts. The voter demographics may be different in 2010 that during the Presidential year of 2008. Pam Rishel suggested using the blogs and e-lists of the various groups (NMCAL, NALSIG, ASLSIG, and Municipal League) to educate and empower librarians to support the campaign. Joe Sabatini noted the decline in the number of people and groups contributing to the PAC over time. Bill Cicola commented on the modest turnout for Legislative Day, and said that there should be busloads of library supporters attending this event. Money is needed for media by July in order to reach early voters in September.
Library vendors have not responded to contribution requests, with a few exceptions. These contributors should receive ongoing recognition. David and Linda O’Connell have been redesigning the PAC website to enable updates to be posted more effectively. Linda asked that the website have a page that communicated what the public needs to know about the bond issue. Patrons need to know the connection between bond funding and the collections and databases available in their local libraries.
Representative Ed Sandoval has once again committed to sponsor the bond bill in the House, and will find a Senate sponsor for a companion bill. Librarians could inform their local legislators about the bond bill by asking them to be co-sponsors. The Legislation Committee is working with lobbyist Larry Horan to get a bill draft. There was discussion about the amounts of money to request. In the last two bond issues, each library type got an equal amount, $3 million. In 2008, an additional $2 million was added for Tribal libraries as a fourth category. The group decided to request a bond issue for $18 million, with $6 million each going to school and academic libraries, and 6.5 million going to public libraries, including tribal libraries. There may be less money available for general obligation bonds in 2010, so our request needs strong local support.
There will be continuing meetings of the NMLA and Bonds for Libraries PAC leading up to the 2010 legislative session which will monitor the development of the GO bond. Suggestions by librarians and library advocates are always welcome. The final bill going to the governor for his approval (or veto!) is mostly out of the influence of non-legislators, if history is any indication. We have become resigned to working on passing whatever emerges from the legislative process. However, discussions and representations with our legislators is always recommended. The same need for contacting the governor’s office also exists following the final version of the GO bond bill which ends up on the governor’s desk. He has 20 days to make a decision following the passage of the final version of the GO bond bill by the legislature.
Following the governor’s approval of a library GO bond going to the voters, the PAC swings into action informing the library community and promoting passage of the GO bond issue at the general election.