While Librarians Wept, A library System Dies 1997-2017

While Librarians Wept, A Library System Dies 1997-2017 is a 'personal archive' of writings by an award-winning author of his efforts to preserve the Douglas County Library System, an eleven-library county government-supported agency during twenty years of funding cuts. Beginning with the elimination of his rural county’s bookmobile in 1997, the county government responded to its property tax loss crises with staffing cuts and reduced open door hours until eventually closing the system down entirely in 2017 after sixty-one years of public service. Two property tax measures in 2011 and 2016 that were aimed at providing independent funding for the Southern Oregon county’s libraries failed to pass despite the efforts of dedicated library supporters. This collection contains newspaper guest columns, essays, letters, statistics, press releases and memos that were part of the effort as well as a detailed description of the series of problems which lead to the county government’s general fund property tax losses and a section reflecting on the lessons learned by the library advocates during the campaigns. In presenting this material, Robert Leo Heilman is hoping to provide models and strategies as well as encouragement and hope to library supporters in this time of national crisis for public libraries.