Residents raise almost $100,000 for Michigan library defunded over LGBTQ books
Residents of a small town in western Michigan helped raise almost $100,000 for their local library after it was defunded over the inclusion of LGBTQ books. P
Residents of a small town in western Michigan helped raise almost $100,000 for their local library after it was defunded over the inclusion of LGBTQ books.
Primary voters in Jamestown Township, a community 20 miles east of Lake Michigan, rejected a proposal last week to renew tax funds to support the Patmos Library in nearby Hudsonville that serves Jamestown and the surrounding area. The rejection, which passed with nearly two-thirds voter approval, eliminates 84% of the public library’s annual budget, or $245,000.
The library has been in the crosshairs of some conservative residents since last November, when a small group of parents raised concerns over the availability of LGBTQ-related, local NBC affiliate WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids, Michigan reported. While the library reportedly agreed to place a few of the flagged titles behind the circulation desk, it was not enough to persuade the voters to continue to fund the library.
Patmos Library in Hudsonville, Mich.GoogleLarry Walton, the library’s board president, told local news site Bridge Michigan that he was not expecting the loss of funds and that the library would likely run out of money late next year without those tax dollars.
“The library is the center of the community,” he said. “For individuals to be short-sighted to close that down over opposing LGBTQ is very disappointing.”
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